
Class JIEJ';^^ 



Celebration 



"^ ^ 



OK THE 



hit Pimbretr Hittr Jfiftict^ ^ititiberScTrg 



OP THE ORGANIZATIOX OK THE 



TOWN OF LEICESTER, 



July 4, 1871. 




CAMBRIDGE : 

PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 



Celebration 



OK THE S ' r 



#ne punbrcb anir Jfiftictl^ ^nnibcr^ixrg 



OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 



TOWN OF LEICESTEK, ^^^ 



July 4, 1871. 




CAMBRIDGE : 

PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

1871. 






iMfMUklMVt 



PROCEEDINGS. 



In accordance with a previous public invitation, the citizens of 
Leicester held a meeting at the Town House, February 11, 
1871, to consider the subject of celebrating their One Hundred 
and Fiftieth Anniversary in some suitable manner ; and after 
discussing the matter it was voted to do so, and a Committee 
was chosen to invite an Orator, and other preliminary measures 
were taken to carry out that object. 

Meetings were subsequently held at various times ; and it 
was decided that the day of our National Anniversary was the 
most suitable and convenient time lor this purpose. 

On the 20th of May, the citizens were again called together 
to organize for the occasion, and 

John E. Russell, Esq., was chosen Chairman, and 
Dea. C. C. Denny, Secretary. 

A Committee of Nomination was appointed, who reported the 
following names, which were accepted, as a 



John E. Russell. 
John D. Cogswell. 
C. C. Denny. 
Wm. F. Holman. 
Joseph Murdock. 
Samuel IMay. 
Edwin L. Watson. 
Charles Siuley. 



Committee of Arrangements. 

L. S. Watson. 
Jos. A. Denny. 
L. G. Stuktevant. 
Charles A. Denny, 
a. ii. coolidge. 
Alonzo White. 
Lucius IM. Waite. 
John N. JNIurdock. 



L. D. Thurston. 
John S. Smith. 
D. E. Merriam. 
Edward Sargent. 
John Woodcock. 
Joshua Murdock. 

EUVING SrRAGUE. 

Lucius Woodcoik. 



4 



Cheney Hatch. 
Charles W. Warren. 
H. Arthur White. 
Samuel Firth. 
JosEPnus Woodcock. 
T. E. Woodcock. 
James A. Smith. 
Anthony Hankey. 
Parley Holm an. 
rufus holman. 
George PI. Munroe. 



John W. Bisco. 

John N. Grout. 
James Whittemore. 
Samuel L. Hodges. 
Jos. M. Trask. 
H. O. Smith. 
Billings Mann. 

TlIOS. S. LiVERMORE. 

E. G. Carlton. 
D WIGHT Bisco. 



William P. White. 
Dexter Knight. 
John D. Clark. 
Lyman I. Upiiam. 
D. W. Kent. 
Samuel Southgate 
Albert Marshall. 
William Bond. 
Arthur M. Stone. 
Joseph B. Upiiam. 



At a subsequent meeting Messrs. Russell and Denny were 
made permanent Chairman and Secretary of the Committee of 
Arrangements ; and the whole Board were divided into various 
Sub-committees to carry out the details of the Celebration. 

Weekly meetings were held for some time previous to the 
Fourth of July, to report progress in the work, and provide for 
its satisfactory completion. 

The following general invitation to the Absent Sons and 
Daughters of Leicester appeared in the daily and weekly 
papers in "Worcester ; and five or six hundred copies, in the 
form of circular letters, were sent out by mail, by the Com- 
mittee on Invitations, to those whose address could be readily 
ascertained : — 



SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION AT LEICESTER. 

The citizens of Leicester will celebrate the ensuing Fourth of July, in 
Commemoration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Organ- 
ization of the Town, by an Address from Hon. Emory Washburn, and 
other appropriate exercises. 

A Dinner will be provided at as low a price as can^be afforded, not 
exceeding $1.50 a plate. 

The present citizens of Leicester, together with Spencer, Paxton, and 
Auburn, a part of which territory was originally included in Leicester, and 
all the Sons and Daughters of Leicester now scattered abroad, are cordially 
invited to unite with us on this occasion, without a more particular invita- 
tion. 



All persons intenditif^ to be present are respectfully invited to communi- 
cate with either of tlie subscribers, on or before the twentieth day of June, 
giving information of the number of Dinner tickets wanted, and provision 
will be made for all who thus apply. 



By order of the Committee of Arrangements. 

I. 



Jos. A. Denny, 

L. D. TuuKSTOX, V- Sub-covimiUce- 
Charles A. Denny, ) 
Leicester, May 31, 1871. 

As the day approached, all things seemed to be made ready 
for the occasion. 

Committees had reported that Hon. Emory Washburn, the 
Historian of Leicester, had been invited, and had consented to 
deliver the Address ; that all needful arrangements for music, 
instrumental and vocal, had been made ; that Augustus Marrs, 
of Worcester, had engaged to provide a dinner for about one 
thousand persons ; that a large tent from Boston had been 
engaged, to be erected on the common in front of the Town 
House, and tables set for over one thousand plates therein ; and 
that a suitable place had been prepared in the grove in front 
of the Academy for the Orator and his audience. 

Officers of the day were chosen as follows : — 

Jos. A. Denny, Esq., President. 

Hon. Waldo Flint, of Boston, Abraham Firth, Esq., of 
Boston, Rev. Samuel May, L. S. Watson, Esq., Joun Wood- 
cock, Esq., and S. L. Hodges, Esq., Vice-Presidents. 

Capt. John D. Cogswell, Chief Marshal. 

Dr. John N. Murdock, Toast Master. 

The morning of the Fourth was ushered in, as usual on our 
National Anniversary, by the firing of cannon and the ringing 
of bells ; and Leicester Hill was made cheerful Ijy the early 
arrival of friends from abroad, who continued to throng to the 
village during the early liours of the day. 



6 



The weather, though cloudy and somewhat threatening for 
a while in the morning, proved to be fine and wholly favorable 
throughout the day. 'J'he exercises in the grove commenced 
at ten o'clock a.m., and were in accordance with the printed 
programme. 

Rev. Samuel May said, that in the universally regretted 
absence of Mr. Russell, the duty of acting as Chairman of the 
Committee of Arrangements, had been assigned to him. In 
behalf of the Committee, and of all the citizens, he congratu- 
lated the large audience on the happy circumstances of the 
occasion, rejoicing especially to see so great a number of former 
residents returning to take part in its memories and festivities. 
At his call, the Worcester National Band, which had already 
been filling the village with the echoes of its awakening strains, 
opened the exercises with a suitable piece. 

Mr. May. — One of our own poets has said, — 

" The groves were God's first temples ; " 

and in such a temple, fair to see, and, as we can truly say, 
" not made with hands," are we met to observe our country's 
great anniversary, to recall the struggles, sufferings, and virtues 
of those who first planted this town, and to render honor to 
their character and their work. 

The whole audience, led by a well-trained choir of thirty 
singers, then sang, to the tune of Old Hundred, the following 

INVOCATION. 

Great God, to thee we raise our prayer, 
Our grateful song for thy kind care 
And guiding hand, which all our way 
Has led us, till this gladsome day. 

Here on our nation's natal day, 
Here 'mid our fathers' graves, we pray 
That we their virtues may j)Ossess, 
Their courage, faith, and holiness. 



Rev. A. H. CooLTDGE, Chaplain of the day, read the following 
passage of Scripture : — 

" Give ear, my people, to my law : incline your ears to the words of my 
mouth. 

" I will open my mouth in a parable : I will utter dark sayings of old : 

" Wiiich we have lieard and known, and our fathers have told us. 

" We will not hide them from theirchildren, showing to the generation to come 
the praises of the Lord, and his strcngtli, and his wonderful works that he hath 
done. 

" For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, 
which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their 
children : 

" That the generation to come miglit know them, even the children which 
should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children : 

" That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, 
but keep his commandments." 

After which Mr. Coolidge offered a fervent, appropriate, and 
impressive prayer. 

Tiie choir next sang the following original Hymn, written 
for the occasion, by Rev. A. C. Denison, of Middlefield, Conn., 
a former Pastor of the First Congregational Church of this 
town : — 

From far and near to-day we come, 
As children to our early home, 
These pleasant scenes again to greet, 
These friends of by-gone years to meet. 

These smiling vales, these massive hills, 
These gleaming lakes, these laughing rills, 
Are little changed from year to year ; 
All ! not so we who gather here ! 

But -where are they who dwelt upon 
These hills in seventeen twenty-one ? 
Life's busy walks no more they tread, 
Their names long niunbered with the dead. 

It may be we shall never more 
Clasp hands upon this earthly shore ; 
But may we, an unbroken band, 
All meet at last at God's ri^ht hand ! 



8 



Following which the band played " Keller's American 
Hymn." 

Mr. May said, — To most of this audience the Orator of the 
day needs no introduction. A son of Leicester, he has always 
loved his native town, and given her many sure proofs of his 
affection. We recognize him as the conscientious and able 
lawyer, the learned jurist and just judge, and a Governor of 
our State. But here and to-day we more gratefully honor 
him as the Historian of Leicester, diligent and faithful. To 
that history we have summoned him to make to-day a further 
contribution ; and we are all here to listen to the Hon. Emory 
Washburn. 

ADDRESS BY EMORY WASHBURN. 

Let us congratulate ourselves, my friends, that, on a day 
dedicated to the commemoration of a nation's independence, 
we are permitted to gather once more around the altar of a 
common home, and live again in the pleasant memories which 
cluster around this consecrated spot. Let us congratulate our- 
selves that it is our privilege, at the close of a hundred and 
fifty years from the organization of our native town, to read, in 
the prosperity which greets us on every side, how wisely its 
founders planted here the germinal principle of a free and iur 
dependent community, in the solitude of the wilderness and 
upon the then verge of civilization. 

In tlie light of its history, and of that of the little band who 
first made a lodgment here, we may read an epitome of the 
agencies which, upon a broader field, built up a colony into a 
State, and spread out the little belt of population that then 
hugged the shores of the Atlantic into a vast and mighty 
republic. 

But, interesting as this might be to any generous mind, there 
is a deeper sensibility awakened in some of us on revisiting 
these pleasant scenes. Busy Memory repeoples it with the 
forms of loved ones ; and the friends of earlier days that used 
to meet us in these familiar walks start up, in fancy, at every 



9 



turn, to welcome ns back to our former homes. Ilouscliolds 
long- since scattered are thus gathered once more around ihc 
hearthstone where they ])layed in their childhood. ]>ut, as we 
pause till a sense of what is real comes back ui)on us, we find 
that — 

" Our playmates have passed on, 
And left us counting on the spot 
The faces that are gone." 

There arc, mingled with these emotions, lessons of deej) phi- 
losophy to be drawn from sucli a commemoration as this. The 
busy world stops for a day, and gives us a chance to look back 
over the way along which our fathers and we have been trav- 
elling, and to measure the progress which, as individuals and 
as a community, we have been making in this lapse of years. 

Counting by the aniuial recurrence of the seasons, the present 
completes the hundred and fiftieth since the people of Leicester 
were organized into a town. The first meeting of its inhabi- 
tants for the transaction of municipal business appears to have 
been held on the first Monday of March, 1721. The propriety 
of commemorating this event was obvious ; and those having 
the matter in charge wisely concluded to unite with it the 
celebration of the declaration of our national independence. 
And it only needs a single suggestion to impress upon every 
one the fitness of such a union. The one event was the birth 
of a town, the other the proclaiming of the birth of a nation; 
and the relation between the two becomes more apparent as we 
trace the connection there was between the action of the towns 
of New England and the achievement of the independence of 
the nation. 

The real causes and origin of the American Revolution lie far 
back of 1776. The spirit that gave it life, and animated the 
counsels which guided the Colonies in their struggle with the 
mother country, may be traced to the Puritans of Old England, 
but took its most active and efficient form in New England, in 
the little independent democracies, called towns, into which the 
Colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay were early di- 
vided. 

The country lias been so long familiar with this division 



10 

of territory into separate townships, that we are apt to overlook 
its inllucnce and importance. But I doubt if any one thing 
has done so much towards promoting and sustaining their 
capacity for self-government, as a people, as the organization 
of these little democracies. In this consists the great differ- 
ence there is between the people of the old world and our own. 
In France, for instance, every thing emanates from a central 
power, and the government takes care of the internal and 
domestic affairs of the people in their cities and villages. The 
police is ever present to protect the citizens, and enforce the 
laws. And when, therefore, tliey undertake to proclaim a re- 
public, they fail, because, instead of governing themselves from 
within, they are so accustomed to an outside force to regulate 
tliem, that they fall into discord and confusion, till some strong 
hand seizes hold of the administration and restores order by 
substituting a single will for the combined wills of the nation. 
Whereas, from the very first, the people of New England have 
been accustomed to manage their own domestic affairs by the 
free and intelligent action of the citizens in their town-meet- 
ings, and were so far independent of any general government 
over the whole, that when its administration in Massachusetts 
was suspended from Oct. 5, 1774, to July 20, 1775, the towns 
went on conducting their own affairs in quiet and order, and, 
in fact, supplying a government for the whole province, till it 
was again organized under the advice of the Continental Con- 
gress. Nor does it speak well for the maintenance of th6 
democratic form of government which was sustained by the 
self-regulating power of the towns, that, instead of exercising 
their own police, they have been made dependent, for the most 
important department of it, upon men appointed by the execu- 
tive of the State. Such was not the theory or practical work- 
ing of the system which laid the foundation of these self- 
regulated repul)lics in New England. Wliile as colonies they 
recognized the sovereignty of the home government, they were, 
as to their domestic affairs, as free and independent as we are 
to-day. The freemen of Massachusetts came together in their 
own towns upon terms of equality of rights, where every one 
had a voice and a vote. 'J'liey chose their own local officers, 



11 



selected their ministers, regulated their schools, voted their 
own moneys, and saw to their disbursement. As parts of the 
larger body politic of the colony or province, they chose each 
its owMi delegates to meet in a commou assembly to make tiic 
general laws by which they were to be governed. And so im- 
portant did they deem this coming together of the representa- 
tives of the several towns in wiiat, from the first, was called 
the General Court, that the occasion became a general holiday 
of the people, which, under the name of Election Day, came 
down from the planting of the colony till some of us were old 
enough to enjoy the well-remembered sports and amusements 
to which it was devoted. 

It w^as in this way that the colonists not only learned how to 
govern themselves, but how to take care of themselves. And 
in doing this, it was the towns which spoke and acted, and their 
action became the pulse and tone of the sentiment of the colony. 
In the absence of newspapers, the towii-meetings became the 
medium by which the people examined and discussed the politi- 
cal questions of the day ; and the doings and resolves of Boston 
were echoed back from every town in the country. Among tlie 
instances to which I might allude, where the people came together 
ill their respective localities to consider the great questions in 
which the country was interested, and where a sentiment was 
matured upon wliicii the people as a nation ultimately acted, 
was that of this town on the 2Gth May, 17TG, upon the suV)ject 
of declaring the Colonies independent of the British Crown. 
On that day the people of Leicester were called upon to con- 
sider this momentous question. Tiiey came together, and by 
a solemn vote, without a dissenting voice, pledged themselves, 
" that in case the Honorable the Continental Congress should 
declare these Colonies independent of Great Britain, tlicy would 
support said Congress in effectuating such measure, at the risk 
of their lives and their fortunes." And this was followed in June 
by a like resolve by the people of Spencer. And nobly did 
these towns redeem that pledge, though it is altogether beyond 
my limits, on this occasion, to dwell upon the details of the part 
they took in achieving that independence. There is, then, I 
repeat, a fitness in thus uniting the commemoration of the two 
events to which this day has been consecrated. 



\'> 



But, ill doing this, we arc to remember that the men of the 
Revolution were not of the generation who planted the town. 
More than fifty years had intervened between these events; and, 
if we would do justice to the actors in both, we must go back, 
and call up before us the men and women who were the pio- 
neers in penetrating this, till then, unbroken wilderness. Who 
and what manner of men they were who laid here the founda- 
tion of a community which at the end of a hundred and fifty 
years are sharing the fruits of their faith and their fortitude, 
is a tiieme worthy of such an occasion. 

In the first place, they were of pure English stock. Several of 
the families were direct immigrants from England, and none 
of them were more than two or three removes from native 
English parents. With scarce an exception, they were small 
farmers, who did their own work, and relied upon their own 
resources. There must, in this way, have grown up a condi- 
tion of great equality among them, while their isolation from 
the rest of the world, which rendered them mutually dependent 
upon each other in many things, must liave bound them to- 
gether by strong ties of sympathy and attachment. The growth 
of the town was slow ; and the families of which it was com- 
posed were scattered over its entire territory, so that there was 
nothing like a village or group of dwellings within it for many 
years. It could have had but few attractions, at first, to draw 
new settlers to it. They were in constant fear of the Indians, 
and had to build " garrison houses " in different parts of the 
town, to which they could flee when threatened with attack. 
There is a letter on record which was addressed by some of 
the most cons! I "rablo men of the town to Lieutenant-Governor 
Dummer, in 1725, which gives us some insight into their condi- 
tion. " It was so late," say they, " the last summer, before we 
had any soldiers, that we were exceedingly behind in our busi- 
ness." And in another they tell him that tliis is a frontier town, 
and has been much exposed, and reduced to very low circum- 
stances, by reason of tlie late Indian wars. The town, more- 
over, was so poor that the province abated tiiat year's tax which 
had been assessed upon it. 

What is said of its l)oing a frontier settlement was literally 



1:3 



true. There had been one in Brookfield ; but it liad been 
broken up and dispersed by tlie Indians during Philip's war, 
and only a few families had begun again to establish them- 
selves there. With this exception, there were no white 
settlers between Leicester and the Connecticut River. On 
the east a few families had gathered in Worcester, after the de- 
struction of that settlement, in the same year with the one at 
Brookfield. Even with those settlements there was next to no 
means of communication. The only pretence for a road w'as a 
path through the woods, which it was difficult to travel even on 
horseback. It was along what was called the " Connecticut 
Path," by which persons going from Boston to Connecticut 
River threaded their way through the wilderness. It had never 
been laid out as a highway until after the organization of the 
town ; and, wdien that was done, it took the name of the " Coun- 
try road," which Avas the same, substantially, as that which 
was travelled here fifty years ago. The roads to the north and 
south from the present village were commenced at a still later 
period ; so that, when the people of the town took upon them- 
selves the burdens and responsibilities of supporting the civil 
and religious institutions of a body politic, they were an iso- 
lated community, dependent upon themselves alone for success. 
By a wise foresight, there were reserved, from the grant of the 
township, a lot of land for the ministry, and another for a 
school. But as no provision was made for a house for public 
worship, the people came together and erected one in 1710, two 
years before they had been organized as a town. 

But before we inquire how far they redeemed the pledges 
they made to the colony and posterity when they assumed to 
act for themselves, it would be pleasant to gratify a natural 
curiosity which every one nuist feel to know something more 
of the character and condition of the men wdio laid the founda- 
tion of a social structure which has stood firm amidst all the 
changes through which the country has ))cen passing. In this 
connection, too, we are inclined to ask. What were their aims 
and purposes in coming here, and under whose patronage did they 
come ? Unfortunately, they left no record of themselves, save 
here and there an isolated fact, from which, however, we are 



u 



able to infer what that record woukl have been if it had been 
preserved. Of some things connected with their history, we 
can be at no k:)ss for a judgment. And, in the first place, 
they recognized no man as master or as patron. They came 
in the consciousness of their own integrity, to build up homes 
here, and to share the civil and religious privileges of a respect- 
able New England town. Within that happy mediocrity of 
life for which Agur, in his wisdom, prayed, they had " neither 
poverty nor riches," and seem to have been content with that 
humble lot. Rich and poor are, indeed, relative terms; and I 
have sought for some test by which to judge how far these 
words were applicable to the first settlers of the town. I have 
accordingly looked into the inventories of the estates of sev- 
eral of them, which were made up at different times, from 
fifteen to forty years after the first settlement of the town. 
The real estate of Judge Menzies, whicli was one of the 
largest in the town, although incumbered with mortgages, was 
valued at =£2,700, and his personal at <£319. John Lynde, Jr., 
a still richer man, and perhaps the richest of the original 
settlers, had lands valued at =£1,377, and personal estate of the 
value of X900. Of those estates forming something like an 
average with others in the town, I find the amounts varying 
from £327 to £680.- But while these statistics lielp to show 
the pecuniary condition of the first generation, there are other 
facts to be* collected from them which throw further light upon 
the condition and habits of their domestic life, which are 
equally curious and interesting. Thus, for instance, while 
these inventories are very minute and particular, even to trifling 
articles of furniture, I have found neither carpet nor clock nor 
watch in any one of them ; and while we can imagine that 
they would have substituted, as they used to do, sand for 
carpets, and a scratch on the window-sill for a clock, to tell 
them at what time to eat their dinners, it is difficult to con- 
jecture how they contrived to live without looking-glasses. The 
men must have worn their beards as long and shaggy as some 
do in our day, without ever tliinking of a razor ; and as for our 
mothers, it was lucky for their toilets tliat no evil genius had 
before that day invented that strange outrig for the brain, a 



15 

chignon., or discovered how to pile a bale of dry goods upon a 
Avomairs back and call it a lady's dress. In the inventory of 
the richest man in town, I find three of those necessaries of 
life, looking-glasses, varying in value from 6s. Of^. to 40s. 
In that of another man of substance, I find only one of the 
value of 4s. ; while among tlio household goods of others no 
article of the kind is to be found. But the most curious con- 
trast with the habits of our day is found in the matter of 
books. In many a well-to-do family we do not find a single 
volume. John Lynde, Jr., whom I have already mentioned, 
was the first school-master in the town, and held the office of 
justice of the peace, when it was really a mark of distinction. 
He had what is called in his inventory a " library of Latin 
books and English," which was valued at XI IG5. M. ; while 
the books of three other substantial farmers varied in value 
from 5s. to 15s. Such as had any books generally possessed a 
Bible ; and we occasionally find a psalter and a psalm-book. 
But the use of psalm-books was rendered unnecessary by the 
universal custom of the deacon in leading the singing in pub- 
lic worship, reading a single line of the psalm at a time, which 
was taken up by the congregation, and repeated by them in 
chorus rather tlian in harmony. 

Perhaps I shall have no fitter place in which to speak further 
of the social habits and domestic lives of the good Puritan fathers 
and mothers who flourished here a century and a half ago. 
As we look back upon what we know to have been their sur- 
roundings, as well as upon the lives of incessant toil and self- 
denial to which they were subjected, it would seem to be a mis- 
application of terms to speak of their pleasures or amusements. 
Every thing they saw and heard must have checked every approach 
to joyousness and hilarity. In the day-time their vision was 
hemmed in by the tangled forest, into which the sunlight hardly 
found its way. Their slumbers at night were broken by the 
howling of wild beasts around their dwellings ; while within, 
sickness was often a dreaded visitor, and death every now and 
then stole in upon their scanty number, to snatch from them 
the companion they could least spare. What could there be 
in such a life but sadness and sorrow, and the constant fore- 



16 



bodino; of coming evil ? But, fortunately for them as for us all, 
there is a silver lining to the darkest cloud, and a light that 
relieves the most sombre picture. Human nature has an 
elemen't of joyousness in the young, the hopeful, and the con- 
tented, wherever they are found ; nor was it wanting even here. 
That their pleasures partook of what we are taught to call 
gayety or fashionable life, is not to be imagined. Such a pro- 
fane thing as dancing must have been unheard of. Dress and 
style furnished rather a narrow range for fashion, where the 
good wife spun and wove and dyed the cloths which she after- 
wards cut and made into garments for the family. They 
doubtless had their social gatherings, and the tattle and gossip 
which made up the talk of every neighborhood. But they had 
never readied the luxury of a " tea-party," for the reason 
that that delightful beverage first began to be heard of in the 
colony in 1720. They had to manufacture their own news, as 
there were only two small weekly newspapers then printed in 
the province ; and as they had neither post, nor mail, nor stage- 
coach, these probably never found their way so far into the 
country. But, where there are youth and health, nature is not 
niggard of its elements of jAeasure. There was hunting in the 
forest and fishing in the streams. The young men had their 
matches of strength and agility, and the old men told to willing 
listeners, the stories of English life and what the Puritans had 
suffered. And so life moved on. The young people came to- 
gether and loved and courted and married, and started in life 
with the same rose-colored hopes that they do now, though, in 
their simplicity, they had never thought of turning a wedding 
into a " gift enterprise," by taxing the bounty of every guest 
they invited. Children were born to gladden the household, as 
they do now ; and in the rearing and training of these, parents 
were too busy to feel the want of frivolous amusements. Even 
toil and labor put on the garl) of pleasure and social enjoyment, 
wlien neighbors came together to help raise each other's build- 
ings, or by the light of the golden harvest moon sat and husked 
one another's corn, or crowned the achievement of a new co- 
operative bcdquilt by an evening of free and cheerful hilarity. 
In these and a luindred other ways the kindlier feelings within 



17 

them found room for free play, and pleasures sprung ui) as 
spontaneously as the wild flowers and fruits around them which 
ministered to their senses. 

But we must look dee[)er than these outside forms of 
social life for the efficient causes of the traits of character 
which we discover in these early settlers. There were a 
variety of circumstances which were calculated to foster 
within them habits of thought which made them self-reliant 
and independent in sentiment and opinion. In the first place, 
there was a practical equality in their social and political 
condition, which contributed to their individual independence. 
In the next place, a large proportion of them had been born in 
Massachusetts, and had inibil)ed in their cliildhood the prevail- 
ing notions of Puritan belief and independent church polity 
which tlie Congregational churches of New England had adopted. 
Many of them, doubtless, had been more or less trained in the 
common schools of the colony, and had learned the important 
lesson of self-government in the town-meetings in which they 
had taken a part. Another circumstance which ought not to be 
overlooked was that they owned the lands which they tilled, 
and were no man's tenants. It is difficult for us, with our 
habits, to realize the practical difference there is, in point of 
manliness and independence of spirit, between owning lands 
and occupying them as tenants. One sees it everywhere in Eng- 
land ; and in Prance the old system of feudalism, which kept the 
great body of the cultivators in the condition of slaves, was 
never broken down till the Revolution of 1789, — more than a 
hundred and fifty years after tlie farmers of New England had 
been accustomed to till their own lands and to think their own 
thoughts. 

The scattered and isolated condition of the early settlers of 
the town left them much alone, and drove them to habits of 
self-reflection and self-examination. If they knew little of the 
outer world and what we call science, they were conversant 
with the workings of their own hearts, and dwelt much upon 
the solemn and mysterious connection there is between man 
and his Maker, in the light of that revelation which they ac- 
cepted without reserve. Darwin's wonderful discovery of man's 



18 



relation to the ape had not disturbed their confidence in the 
Bible account of the creation of our first jjarents. The vaunted 
philosophy of Positivism had not then got in advance of revela- 
tion, as we are now told it has done. Nor had modern theori- 
zers found out a better code of moral law than that which our 
fathers innocently believed was delivered on Mount Sinai. And 
while it would be out of place to raise questions of creeds on 
such an occasion, it is not to be denied, that the Calvinism of 
that day was calculated to make a class of profound thinkers, 
whatever may be thought of its doctrines as a system of faith. 
The very effort to comprehend and reconcile with one's reason 
the inexplicable mysteries of original sin, of free-will and fore- 
ordination, was an exercise of intellectual gymnastics which 
helped to develop and strengthen powers of the mind which, 
under ordinary circumstances, would have been likely to lie 
dormant and inactive. Right or wrong, it was just such a 
system of faith as was suited to fit that generation for the 
work which tliey were commissioned to do. That they were 
religious men of the then prevailing school of theology is seen 
in every step of their growth and progress. Sunday was to 
them a day of sacred rest ; and their cliildren, trained in the 
mysteries of the Shorter Catechism, grew up in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord. 

Another circumstance which showed the character and spirit 
of the men of that day was the manner in which they strug- 
gled against their pecuniary embarrassments in their attempts 
to establish and maintain a free school. In 1731 they made 
provision for such a school, but were obliged to suspend it the 
following year, though they resumed it in 1733. Nor were 
they able to provide a school-house till 173G, when they built 
one of the humble dimensions of twenty by sixteen feet, and 
six feet and an half " between joints." This, moreover, was 
the only school-house which the town had for many years, and 
stood upon the Common, a few rods to the east of the meeting- 
house, of which I have already spoken. 

Passing from the social and intellectual condition of the 
people to the circumstances in which they must have found 
themselves in respect to the nuuiber, size, and situation of 



19 

their dwelling-houses : as near as can be ascertained, when 
they built their meeting-house, it was placed in the woods upon 
the common land, and only two houses had then been built 
near it, — one where Mr. May's now is, the other where Cap- 
tain Knight's stands. The latter was of a single story, kept 
as a public house, and was furnished with wooden hinges and 
latches which were raised by strings passing through the door. 
And in this respect the same was doubtless true of every 
house in town. I have a description of what is now the vil- 
lage from an eye-witness who knew it in 17G7, fifty years after 
the first settlement of the town. The public house which I 
have spoken of had just been burned ; the little nondescript 
school-house was still standing ; a rude brush fence, which 
came up to the meeting-house at its rear, inclosed the burying- 
ground then in use. The dwelling-house of the first minister 
stood some fifty or sixty rods to the north-east from the meet- 
ing-house ; and a small building, containing two rooms, stood 
where the tavern now is. If to these we add a small house 
near the brook, west of the Common, and another between 
that and the Common, a small house upon the slope of the hill 
east of the meeting-house, and two or three small houses upon 
the south road (one of them near where the late Mr. Hobart 
lived), we have the entire village and its surroundings as they 
were within the memory of persons who have described them 
to some of us who are here to-day. And I may perhaps add, 
in respect to the style of the buildings of that day, that the 
house now standing on the east side of the road, half a mile 
north of the meeting-house, was, I imagine, one of the most 
imposing structures in the town, and none of these were at 
any time painted. 

If now we attempt to gather hints from the meagre records 
before us to guide us in our study into the characteristic 
qualities of the men and women who left their impression 
upon the society which tiicy planted here, our only regret is 
that we are so circumscribed in our inquiries. If, as we arc 
told, " the child is parent of the man," the first settlers of a 
town are not only the physical parents of the future genera- 
tions of that town, l)ut give to their moral qualities a shape an(J 



20 



character as distinctly marked as the complexion or personal 
habits which distinguish families from each other. Applying 
this test, I am led to believe that, with all the counteracting 
influences which tended to make them selfish and exclusive, they 
had an element of liberality in their natures which amounted 
at times to magnanimity. Their convictions in the matter of 
religious belief must have been strong and decided. They 
took upon themselves a heavy burden when they undertook to 
maintain the stated ordinances of the gospel, and must have 
felt it almost as a personal wrong if one of their number broke 
away from the communion which had bound them together. 
It must have, therefore, been a severe trial of their spirit of 
forbearance, when, in 1736, before the troubles in which they 
had been involved in their long controversy with their fii'st 
clergyman had been healed. Dr. Green gathered, in what is 
now Greenville, a society of Anabaptists, and became himself 
their preacher. And yet I cannot find that this secession 
brought with it any of the accustomed alienation of feeling 
between those who composed the two societies. But this, per- 
haps, should excite no surprise after we are told that the town 
had already safely passed through a far more severe invasion 
of the Orthodox proprieties of church order in 1732, when Ralf 
Earle and seven others certified to the town-clerk, who, though 
an excellent tailor, was an indifferent model for good spelling, 
that they were what he chose to record them, " those people 
called Quackers," which was followed a few years after by 
Steward Southgate leaving Mr. Goddard's church, and joining 
these recusant-seceders. What makes it the more remarkable 
is, that all this took place while the memory was still fresh of 
what the colonists had done to convince these two classes of 
religionists of the error of their ways, by hanging a few and 
banishing more. They were too dull to accept the force of 
the argument, and kept on multiplying worse than before. 

But, from some cause which I am ready to believe was good 
sense as well as liberal sentiment, the fathers of this town 
seem to have early reached a conclusion to whicli half the 
world is still slow to yield, that a man may be a good neighbor 
and a valuable citizen, though he may differ from the majority 



21 



in matters of speculative theology. And this sentiment they 
seem to have transmitted to their children ; for when a colony 
of Jewisli families removed here from Newport, during the 
war of the Revolution, they not only found a ready welcome, 
but intimacies and friendships grew up between the citizens 
and them, whicli lasted as long as they lived. The town and 
parish remained entire until 188'] ; and the fact that the pasto- 
rates of six ministers cover the whole hundred and fifty years 
shows the general harmony which has prevailed upon subjects 
upon which people ai-e so ai»t to betray feeling and ill-blood. 
To understand the force of this, we ought to remember how 
great have been the changes in a denominational point of view 
within tlie memory of persons now living. I had grown 
almost to manhood before I ever saw what I supposed was a 
Catholic in the town ; and one or two would, I think, have 
covered the entire numl^er of Methodists ; and as for Unita- 
rians, the term had then hardly become known here. Whereas 
now the regret is, not that each of these denominations and 
Episcopalians have a place of worship here, but that the relig- 
ious society which was the first to secede from the original 
parish lives here no longer, save in its honorable history, and 
the memory it has left of the worth and intelligence of those 
who commanded for it the respect of the entire town. 

While we may well honor the catholic spirit whicli seems to 
have characterized the place, we ought to remember how much 
of this harmony has been due to one who for fifty-nine years 
has been the guide and pastor of the church which was 
founded with the town itself. His influence has been felt in 
the prosperity as well as harmony of the town, and has 
added value to every farm and workshop and manufactory 
within it. Posterity will honor his memory, as those who 
have met him in his daily walks have honored him. 

Let it not be supposed, however, that while dwelling upon the 
old-fashioned ways and notions which had so much to do with 
the character of the earlier and later generations of the peo- 
ple here, I have been unmindful of the progress which the 
race has everywhere been making, nor how far the world, 
through the progress of science, has got in advance of many 



22 



of the superstitions which kept down the free aTction of the 
liuman mind. I have no time to dwell upon the assumed 
triumphs of modern science over the credulity of a former age. 
But we cannot, in passing, forbear asking ourselves which of 
all its discoveries could have supplied our fathers, for an hour, 
with the support they found, in their periods of gloom and 
discouragement, in the evidences they saw around them of a 
present God, and the unquestioning confidence with which 
they read in their Bibles the sublime truths which in their 
simplicity they believed he had himself revealed to man. 

There is another characteristic incident in the lives of these 
men, which is the more remarkable, when we remember that 
they were mere farmers' sons, whose unromantic habits of life 
were associated with home and the quiet, unexciting pursuits 
of peace ; and that is the readiness with which they yielded to 
the calls which were so often repeated for men to take part in 
the military enterprises of the day. I know not how many of 
its citizens went into the service in obedience to these calls ; 
but wherever I have been able to trace the history of the 
expeditions in the " French wars," as they were called, I have 
found the names of Leicester men upon their rolls. They 
were at the taking of Louisburg in 1745, where Captain Brown 
commanded a company. They were in the Canada expedition 
in 1747, and with General Winslow in that to Maine in 1754. 
They were with General Abercrombie at Crown Point in 175G, 
and with General Amherst at Ticonderoga in 1759, in both of 
which William Henshaw was a lieutenant. And more than 
thirty officers and soldiers from the town took part in the con- 
quest of Canada in 1760. Indeed, so many had taken a share 
in these wars, that some of us can remember with what famil- 
iarity the older men of the town used to speak of the events 
of these campaigns, which made the names of Crown Point 
and " Old Ti " almost household words among the people of 
that day. 

And it may be to this cause that we sliould ascribe that 
traditional respect for military titles whicli once prevailed so 
universally here and throughout New England, and of whicli 
we may now see traces in the prefixes attached to so many 



23 



names which arc inscribed on the older head-stones in our 
cemeteries. Tlicy were marks of distinction which had been 
won by gallantry and desert in fields of actual service, and 
were cherished and respected accordingly. 

It was by these " old French " wars, as they were called, 
that the men of New England were trained in the school of 
the soldier for the coming struggle for our national indepen- 
dence. And nothing, in all its stirring and memorable events, 
was more fraught with hopeful interest to those who were 
watching its progress than the manner in which seemingly 
raw troops, gathered from the farms and villages of the country, 
without organization or discipline, or even knowing who was 
their commanding officer, stood in an unbroken line, and 
received the fire of the advancing columns of an enemy whom 
they were meeting for the first time, until they could deliver a 
fire ill return, with so sure and steady an aim that the finest 
troops of England quailed before it, and fell back with a 
recoil from which it was difficult to rally them. Leicester and 
Spencer had their men there too ; and when the company made 
up of these were ordered by the commandant of the regiment 
to which it belonged to halt at Charlestown Neck, which they 
reached after the battle had begun, they to a man refused to 
obey the order, and gallantly followed their captain, who led 
them into the thickest of the fight, and they were among the 
last in the retreat.^ Nor did this martial spirit of its men flag 
for a moment, till their inde}jendence had been achieved. In 
addition to those who marched at the alarm of Lexington, and 
those who enlisted in the first eight months' service, and in 
addition to more than thirty who served in the regular Conti- 
nental army, the town answered, during the first five years of 
the war, twenty-eight drafts for men, although the entire num- 
ber in the town capable of bearing arms, in the year 1781, was 
only one hundred and fifty-one. With such a liistory before 
me, I looked with no little solicitude for the record of what 
Leicester had done during that last grand struggle for the 
Constitution and the cause of human liberty against a wicked 

^ The captain was Setli Washburn, of Leicester ; the lieutenant, Joseph Liv- 
erniore, of Spencer. 



24 



and groundless Rebellion ; and I only wish I could give it entire, 
as it has been given to me. I quote when I say, " Her sons 
marched at the first call of the President for the defence of the 
capital, and were among the first armed troops to reacli 
Washington. They received their first baptism of fire in the 
streets of Baltimore, with the old Sixth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment, April 1*J, 18G1 ; Colonel Jones, its commander, and others 
among its officers, being natives of Leicester." She sent into 
the service more than three hundred of her sons. They were 
in more than one hundred battles. ^lore than forty of them 
were wounded, and twenty-one of them fell on the bloody 
field. It was the story of the Revolution over again. It 
was tlie Leicester of the fathers revived in the action of the 
sons.^ 

In what I have thus far said of the character and intelligence 
of the settlers of Leicester and their immediate posterity, as 
well as of the part they took in the events of the Revolution, I 
ought, perhaps, to have spoken more at large of the individuals 
who, from education and position, exerted an influence upon 
the conduct and opinions of others. While I should be unable 
to name, much less to do justice to, all who deserve notice, I 
have ventured to mention a few of these rather as representa- 
tives of the period in which they lived, than from any wish to 
signalize any, where so many are equally deserving. Among 
them Judge Menzies stands the earliest in point of time. He 
had been bred as a Scotch barrister, and held the office of Judge 
of Admiralty in the province, which was one of much dignity 
and importance, and brought him into contact with those en- 
gaged in foreign trade, as well as the men of influence in the 
province. His estate was what is now known as the " Henshaw 
place ; " and he could hardly have failed to exert an influence 
over his neighbors by the style in which he lived, and the ex- 
ample wdiich he set before them, socially as well as personally, 
in his manners and address. 

Of the earliest native-born children of the town, I have in 
my mind two, whom I name in connection with the problem 
how that generation could have acquired the education which 



1 Soe Appendix. 



2;-) 



is now supj>licd by our schools. But that they were well edu- 
cated by SQine means, is apparent from the history of the town, 
as well as the recollection of some still alive. Thomas Denny 
was born three years after the town was organized ; and his 
sister, Mrs. Nathan Sargent, three years after that. This was 
some years before any school had been established ; and the dis- 
tance at which they lived from it must have rendered it of 
little or no use to them when it was in operation. And yet 
there are those living who remember this lady as a person of 
agreeable culture and great intelligence ; and it would be diffi- 
cult to name one who could better represent the patriotism of 
the Avomen of the Revolution, who were not a whit behind their 
brothers in spirit or devotion. It was of her that the incident 
has so often been told, how when the company of minute-men, of 
whom her son was one, were on their march for Lexington, on 
the alarm of 19th April, 1775, they halted at her door, but not 
being supplied with bullets for their cartridges, she and her 
husband took the leaden weights from their clock and melted 
them down, to supply the want. It told more than words could 
do that war had indeed begun in earnest. The brother, Mr. 
Denny, would have been a leading man in any community by 
his intelligence, patriotism, and public spirit. He died just 
before the breaking out of the war ; and his loss was felt as a 
public calamity in the province. While a member of the Gen- 
eral Court, he was associated with such men as Samuel Adams, 
James Otis, and John Hancock, and is named by Governor 
Hutchinson in his History. He had taken a part in the cele- 
brated controversy with the Governor in 1771, which was one 
of the immediately exciting causes of the Revolution. 

Two of her citizens, Colonel AVilliam Henshaw and the Hon. 
Joseph Allen, by their relation to the leading men of that 
day in Boston, formed an important medium by which the 
spirit of Adams and Otis and Warren was widely diffused 
through this community. Mr. Allen was a nephew of Samuel 
Adams, and removed here in 177 1, and did much, by way of his 
pen and his personal influence, to give a right direction to tlie 
sentiment which animated the people. Colonel Henshaw was 
in the cause from the first. He was the Adjutant-General of 

4 



•2() 



the American army until the arrival of General Washington 
at Cambridge, and acted in that capacity for some months after. 
He was of tlie Council of War, and recommended the occnpation 
of Bunker Hill, which led to tlie battle of the 17th June. He 
was afterwards lieutenant-colonel in the Continental service, 
and fought in some of the severest engagements during the war. 
He was long a type of that courtesy which distinguished the 
gentlemen who had been trained in the military school of the 
Revolution. But, in attempting to speak of individuals, I should 
at once be at a loss where to stop, if it were only to name the 
men and women who in their several spheres did their full share 
towards building up the town and sustaining the country in its 
struggle. I should have to speak of the farmers who contrib- 
uted of their hard and scanty earnings to keep the church and 
the school from being closed, as was done in other of the towns, 
caring for the soldiers' families in their absence, and going in 
turn themselves when needed, to fill the ranks of the army. 
I should have to tell of the wives and mothers, who, with more 
than Grecian or Roman heroism, went on training up their 
children in tlie ideas of the true dignity of manhood, and sup- 
plying by their own lessons of wisdom and experience the teach- 
ings of the schools, and inspiring within their sons a desire for 
that learning which their own limited opportunities had denied 
to them in their youth. If I have any claims to the place 
with which you have honored me to-day, I owe it to the les- 
sons of a mother, who, coming from a neighboring town, had 
never enjoyed the advantages of a school beyond a single week. 
A history of those days would show that the mothers and 
daughters were as nuich in earnest as the sons and the fatliers. 
And, living as we do in an age of progress, the thought starts 
up, in spite of the gravity of the hour, how, after having 
brought up their children to honorable lives and generous pur- 
poses, the mothers of that age went down to their graves in 
blissful ignorance that they had been all their days cheated out 
of their rights, in never having voted at the hustings, or made 
a speech at a caucus ; though, if it would not be turned 
against us in the coming contest, we ought in frankness to con- 
fess that the country would have been quite as well off, if the 



27 



ballots of half the men who did vote had been written for them 
by their disfranchised sisters who were denied the privilege. 

In speaking of the causes which have helped to give a char- 
acter to^tiic town, we ought not to forget the influence which 
the Academy has exerted in educating the successive genera- 
tions who have come upon the stage since it was founded in 
1783. Nor should we ever cease to honor the memories of 
Colonels Ci-afts and Davis, who were its founders, nor of those 
who, from time to time, have l)ecn its patrons and benefactors. 

But while the town, from the causes to which I have referred, 
was able to sustain an honorable rank as an orderly and intel- 
ligent community, there were causes at work adverse to its 
material growth and advancement. Its soil was hard and un- 
suited to profitable agriculture. It was remote from market, 
and its isolated situation had little to attract new settlers. I 
well remember the man whom 1 knew in early life, who " rode 
post," as it was called, during the Revolution, between Boston 
and New York, and carried the public letters and despatches 
between those cities. As the journey had to be made on horse- 
back, it took an entire fortnight to go and return. The first 
stage-coach between Boston and New York was established in 
1783, and the town was without any post-office until 1798. 
For these and other causes the growth of the town was exceed- 
ingly slow. Its territory originally embraced a portion of Pax- 
ton and Auburn ; but, including these, for the first forty years 
after its settlement there had been added less than one hun- 
dred families. During the period of the Revolution it made 
no increase, and in 1790 it had added only seventy-one to what 
its population was when that war began. And even if we 
come down to 1820, although the State, exclusive of Maine, 
had since 177(3 increased more than eighty per cent, Leicester, 
between those periods, had added but two hundred and forty- 
seven, or less than twenty-five per cent. In the mean time 
she had been sending out her sons and daughters to help 
people Vermont, Maine, New York, Ohio, and Virginia ; and 
wherever they went, they carried with them the habits of thrift, 
enterprise, and good order in which they had been trained in 
the homes in which they had been reared. 



28 



Fortunately for the town, while this had been going on, an 
clement of prosperity and growth had been developed which 
has since turned the tide of its prosperity, and scattered 
evidences of thrift on every side, although we look in vain for 
many of the farms on which some of the best families who 
flourished here in our childhood were reared and educated. 
The manufacture of cards had been begun here soon after the 
Revolution ; but that of woollen cloths was inaugurated in 1814, 
by one whom, at the ripe age of eighty-nine years, we welcome 
here to-day as the pioneer in that great source of the prosperity 
which we witness in the villages which have been springing up 
here by the magic power of mechanical enterprise and inge- 
nuity. 

Never has there been a more signal illustration of the value 
of home industry, or of the wisdom of encouraging home manu- 
factures, than is here exhibited in the changes through which 
the town has been passing during the life ot a single individual. 
Art has literally triumphed over nature, and turned the once 
fitful brooks, which ran to Avaste between drought and freshet, 
into perennial sources of enterprise and wealth. 

If we were to contrast the population and wealth of the 
town at the date of my own birth with what we now find it, we 
should be told that the eleven hundred and tliree inhal)itants 
of that day had multiplied to twenty-seven hundred and sixty- 
eight ; and the valuation, as returned by the town, of tit;182,000, 
had grown to that of $2,000,000.^ Nor is there any secret as 
to the manner in which this change has been wrought, when 
we read in the Statistics of the Industry of Massachusetts for 
1865, that the woollen goods and cards manufactured here in a 
single year exceeded in value $1,600,000, employing a capital 

1 Tlie statement here made requires a word of explanation, lest a wrong- 
conclusion slioiild be drawn in undertaking to compare tlie valuation of the 
town in 1800 with that of 1870. The statement as to 1800 is taken from Mr. 
Felt's work on the Statistics of the State, collected from authentic sources. I 
am led, however, to conclude that the valuation, as returned for purposes of tax- 
ation, must have been below the actual value of tiie property of the town, for I 
find in the assessment of the United States direct tax in 1799 the houses and 
lands liable to be assessed in the town were valued at §238,869. Either can prob- 
ably be little more than an approximation to the true value. 



29 



of half a million, and the services of almost half as many per- 
sons as there were people in the whole town at the close of the 
Revolution. Political economists may speculate about the 
fancied benefits which are to flow from free trade. Here we 
have a living proof around us of the blessings which have 
actually flowed from a wise protection of home industry. 

Style and manner of living, in the mean time, may have 
changed, and the frugal habits of the fathers may have given 
place to what would have seemed to them an unwonted display 
of luxury and extravagance. But there is nothing in this for 
apprehension or alarm, so long as the elements of character 
which made them what they were, are cherished and respected 
by those who are filling their places in the social structure 
which they built up here. All will be safe, if, as the passing 
generations look back upon the institutions which their fathers 
planted, and the example of true manliness which they illus- 
trated, the sons shall emulate their virtues, and imitate the 
courage with which they always stood by the right. 

If there is danger from any cause, it is that a generation 
shall arise, who, secure in the enjoyment of what their fathers 
earned by diligence, frugality, and prudence, shall forget that 
the true dignity of a people is not in the magnitude of their 
wealth, or the splendor and style in which they live. There is 
a dignity of manhood vvhicli outweighs them all, and in the loss 
of which a nation is bankrupt, though rolling in wealth and 
luxury. 

" 111 fores the land, to hastening ills a pre}^, 
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay." 

And on such an occasion as this we can hardly forbear to 
muse and meditate upon what is to be the future of this our 
early, our honored home. Who is bold enough to read in the 
simple aiuials of its past history a forecast of the next hun- 
dred years ? Is the progress of the last to be an earnest to 
the next century of its growth and prosperity? Less than a 
century ago it took nearly as many days to reach New York or 
Albany as it now does hours ; while we read in papers of the 
morning the events which transpired yesterday in Paris and 



80 



San Francisco. Science, too, in all its multiform departments, 
has been making such wonderful progress, that the child of 
to-day knows a thousand of its profoundest mysteries, which 
puzzled and confouuded the wisest philosophers of that day. 
And when I remind you that we ourselves have witnessed the 
invention of railroads and telegraphs, and have seen pain and 
suffering disarmed of its terrors by the still more signal dis- 
covery, by Dr. Morton, of the ana)stlietic power of Ether, who 
will dare even to guess what a single century is to bring fortli ? 

To us as individuals tbe question is of but little moment. 
But as parts of that endless current of human life which is to 
flow on when another generation shall have taken our places, 
every generous heart yearns to have the mystery solved, not 
for a single town alone, but for this vast and mighty continent, 
whose boundless domain had hardly been opened to the tread 
of the white man when our fathers chose this spot for a home. 
The imagination is lost in conjecture as it vainly attempts to 
sketch in outline a picture of what they are to witness who are 
to stand where we do at the recurrence of another jubilee. But 
may we not rest assured that when that day shall come, it will 
find, all over the continent, the ripened fruits of that germ of 
civil liberty which was first planted here in Massachusetts, and 
to maintain which her sons helped proclaim and establish a 
nation's independence, which we have met to commemorate ? 
May we not glory in the thought that before that day shall 
come, even the old world will have started into new life under 
the example of what we are witnessing, and that the tinsel and 
glitter of rank and royalty will have grown dim in the light of 
the noble dignity of a universally free and enlightened man- 
hood ? 

We have come here to-day, my friends, to gather lessons of 
wisdom from the simple annals of the fathers who on this 
spot filled their spheres of duty with honor and fidelity. We 
have come here to call up tlie memories of the past, and to 
wipe away the moss and dust which have been gathering over 
the names of loved ones, which affection had carved upon the 
head-stones that niark where they are sleeping. We have 
come to spend one more day amidst scenes and associations 
over which memory sheds a soothing and a lioly culm. 



31 



To-morrow wc shall again join the busy throng, and mingle 
in the bustling activities of an anxious world ; and a new cen- 
tury will take up its record, to be read when another jubilee 
shall again call back the sons of Leicester to the homes of 
their fathers. With some of us that record is soon to close. 
But the mind will, again and again, recall the memories which 
this day has awakened, till, one after another, we shall all 
have joined that procession which has been passing off this 
stage ever since our fathers planted on this spot the institu- 
tions of civil liberty and Christian civilization, a hundred 
and fifty years ago. 



32 



APPENDIX. 



LEICESTER IN THE LATE WAR. 

There were representatives of Leicester in nearly every regi- 
ment that left Massachusetts during the war, also in many 
regiments out of the State and in the United States navy and 
regular army. 

Her sons marched at the first call of the President for the 
defence of the capital, and were the first armed troops to reach 
Washington. They received their first baptism of fire in the 
streets of Baltimore with the old Sixth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment, April 19, 18G1 ; Col. Jones, its commander, and others 
among its officers and men, being natives of Leicester ; — were 
next under fire at Big Bethel and Ball's Bluff"; — many of them 
participated in the Burnside expedition to North Carolina; — 
were the first men to land on Roanoke Island, commence the 
battle, and the first to enter the rebel batteries there ; — were 
the first men to enter the battle of Newbern, and also the first 
to break the rebel line and enter their fortifications. They 
were in nine regular battles in North Carolina ; and one held 
an important command on one of the gunboats, which, under 
Admiral Goldsboro, swept the rebel fleet from the waters in 
North Carolina. 

Again in Virginia, they were with McClellan in all his Pe- 
ninsular campaign, from Yorktown to Malvern Hill; — with 
Pope at second Bull Run and Ciiantilly, at Soutii Mountain 
and Antietam again with McClellan, with Burnside at Freder- 
icksburg, with Hooker at Chancellorsville, and with Mead at 
Gettysburg, experiencing with the Army of the Potomac its 
varied fortunes. 

Leicester had her representatives at the taking of Forts 
Walker and Beauregard on the South Carolina coast, at the 



33 



siege of Fort Sumter, at the blockade of Wilmington and 
Charleston, at the taking of Fort Pulaski, Ga., Forts Macon 
and Fisher, N. C, with Farragut in the passage of the forts at 
the mouth of the Mississippi (on the frigate Pensacola), also 
with him in his great naval battle in Mobile Bay. 

In the West, a Leicester boy was in the battle of Mill Spring, 
and witnessed the fall of the rebel General ZoUicolTer, was at 
Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., and Corinth, Miss. ; — had several 
representatives with Rosecrans at Perrysville, Stone River, and 
other battles; — with Grant at Chattanooga, — one of his 
batteries, which helped break the rebel centre on Mission 
Ridge, was commanded by a Leicester boy, — also at Franklin 
and Nashville under Thomas, with Banks at Port Hudson, and 
with Williams in his heroic defence of Baton Rouge. 

They were with Sheridan in all the hard fighting in tlic 
valley of the Shenandoah, at Fisher's Hill and Winchester 
battles, and other battles there ; — went with Grant from the 
Wilderness to Richmond, in many of the battles at the siege 
of Richmond and Petersburg, to the surrender of Lee ; after 
that marched with Schofield to join Sherman " coming up from 
the sea," and after the battle of Wise's Forks joined him in 
his last blow at armed Rebellion in the South. ^ 

There were something over three hundred men in all, and 
the names of over one hundred regular battles in which Leices- 
ter boys participated can be given. By land and sea they 
always did their duty nobly and well. We know the names of 
twenty-one killed in battle or died of wounds, of nine who died 
of disease while in the service, besides many who died after 
their return in consequence of exposure and hardship while 
there. 

Upwards of forty were wounded, and we know of five who 
starved to death in Andersonville, Milan, and other rebel 
prisons. 

These facts speak for themselves. 

1 A son of Leicester iiarcnts commamlcd an Ohio Regiment in Sherman's 
march " to the sea." 



34 



Hon. Emory Washburn. 

Dear Siu, — The above items in regard to the Leicester soldiers I gather 
from the soldiers' records and from personal knowledge. If you can make 
use of them and any other information in my reach, it will be given checr- 
luUy. Very truly yours, 

II. ARTHUR WHITE. 



The address occupied somewhat over an hour in delivery; 
it was pronounced in a full, clear, and strong voice ; and it was 
readily heard by the large audience in the grove, and from the 
neighboring houses. Tlie attention given to it was noticeably 
close, and continued to the end, when warm and cordial ap- 
plause gave sign of the general pleasure. 

The band gave a further and varied performance ; at the 
close of which a benediction was pronounced. 

The Chairman then introduced to the assembly the Cliief 
Marshal of the day. Captain John D. Cogswell, who gave 
notice of an intermission of half an hour, at the close of which 
the procession would be formed, in accordance with an order 
which he announced. 

Punctually at half past twelve o'clock the procession was 
formed upon the Common, the right in front of the Town Hall, 
marched around the Common, and filed, section by section, each 
under direction of its special Aid, into the spacious tent, whose 
white and swaying canvas was an ornament to the village. 
There, at the ample and bountifully furnished tables, over 
eight hundred of the sons and daughters of Leicester, native 
and adopted, were quickly seated ; and a more cheerful com- 
pany, or one more fair to look upon, it were not easy to find. 
A blessing was craved by the Rev. Mr. Coolidge, Chaplain of 
the day ; after which the attention paid to the various courses, 
from fowl to fruit and ice-cream, was as unremitting and as- 
siduous as the high temperature of the weather would permit. 
A short breathing spell, during which the band played " Hail 
Columbia," intervened between the last course and 



35 



THE SENTIMENTS AND RESrONSES. 

Joseph A. Denny, Esq., as President of the day, opened 
the feast of reason and wit, Ijy the following speech of wel- 
come : — 

Fellow-citizens and Friends, — We have met this day on 
an interesting occasion, to enjoy together a few hours of social 
intercourse. We are happy to greet so many of our friends 
and former fellow-citizens, who have in times past gone out 
from us for fields of greater usefulness. We are happy to bring 
to mind our earlier days, and to contemplate together the vir- 
tues of our ancestors. We have been led back to-day to those 
times, now far beyond the memory of any of us, when our an- 
cestors planted their homes on these wild and rocky hills, sub- 
dued the wilderness, put in operation those moral forces, and 
established those civil institutions which have been to us so 
great a blessing. We welcome you now to this festive board, 
to the homes of your fathers, to our own hearth-stones, and to 
our hearts. We shall be excused, if on such an occasion, after 
contemplating as we have done the early history of our town, 
we express somewhat strongly our honest pride in this review, 
not only in relation to its first settlers and its Revolutionary 
history, but with its character and standing down to the present 
time. Our fathers exerted an important and salutary influence 
in the councils of the Commonwealth and the nation, in the 
organization of the State and general governments ; and since 
that time we have sent out from our homes many of our choic- 
est sons, who have filled stations of importance in various de- 
partments of public life, up to the highest civil offices in our 
Commonwealth. We have sent forth our share of soldiers to 
figiit the battles of our country in all her wars, and have fur- 
nished many of the higher grades of military officers, who have 
honored themselves and their country by their skill and brav- 
ery. Our sons have been found in the Cabinet of our nation, 
and in various departments of our general government, — in 



36 



tlie executive chair of our good old Commonwealth, as judges 
of the hencli and lawyers at the bar, as mayors of our large 
cities, as presidents of our important banking institutions, as 
managers of our vast railway corporations, as skilful physi- 
cians, surgeons, and mechanics, and successful bankers, brokers, 
merchants, and manufacturers, thus taking the lead in the busi- 
ness affairs of our growing country. You have often heard of 
the noble Roman matron presenting her children as her choicest 
treasure, exclaiming, " These are my jewels ; " and with a like 
pride in our common family, we this day honor our noble ances- 
tors by pointing to their descendants, who derived from them 
their habits of industry, their stern integrity, and all the other 
qualities which go to makeup the successful business man, the 
good citizen, and the patriotic statesman. " Here they are : look 
at them." 

We trust that the occasion which has brought you together 
will cement more firmly the friendship of the citizens of this 
and the neighboring towns, whose common origin leads them to 
honor the same worthy ancestry, and to increase, if possible, 
the love of our absent sons and daughters for their early homes, 
our affection for them, and our interest in their future pros- 
perity and welfare. Not because you have been prodigal in 
wasting your substance in riotous living^ but because you have 
been prodigal in dispensing to the world around you the bless- 
ings which you have inherited from your ancestors, we have 
this day killed for you the fatted calf, and called you back to 
the homes of your fathers ; and again, in the name of the citi- 
zens of old Leicester, I bid you all a cordial welcome. 

At the close he introduced the Toast-master, Dr. John N. 
MuRDOCK, who gave as the first sentiment, — 

1. " The Scattered ChUdren of Leicester. Though our narrow bounda- 
ries adbrd not scope for the energies nursed in their blood, ajid they, true 
sons of the Pilgrims, must themselves be pilgrims, and ' sing the Lord's 
song in strange lands ;' wherever their lot may be cast, may they be true to 
the traditions of their race, and always turn with yearning hearts towards 
home." 



37 



The President remarked, — I am happy to know that there 
is a hirge number of iVieiids present who could with propriety 
be called upon to respond to this sentiment, but I see one near 
me whose family have taken a prominent part in the business 
of the town for nearly a century past, who was himself born 
here and spent his youth and active life in our midst, fdled 
many town offices, and ably represented us in both houses of 
our State Legislature, but who has for many years past been 
prominent in the management of the financial affliirs of our 
State capital, — and called on lion. Waldo Flint, of Boston, 
who said : — 

He supposed he had been called upon to respond to the toast 
just read, on the presumption that he could uot have lived so 
long without having learned something which might interest, 
for the moment, the large audience before him. He was not 
disposed to deny his age, inasmuch as, in that neighborhood, 
it could easily be proved against him ; nor did he deny that 
the supposed presumption, as a general rule, was fairly deduci- 
ble from the fact of his age; and yet, as everybody knows, 
circumstances alter cases. Some live long and learn very lit- 
tle, — at least, little that is worth talking about ; others, who 
have really treasured up sometliing of what they have seen and 
heard, have not the happy faculty of telling what they know 
in an agreeable manner; and then, again, memory is exceed- 
ingly capricious in its moods, sometimes refusing to give out 
what is wanted until the occasion for using it has gone by, and 
then volunteering to give the information when nobody wants 
it. His own memory, he supposed, might be an average one, 
but in no respect equal to that of his friend who had so felici- 
tously instructed and entertained them in the forenoon. For 
himself, he must confess that he remembered nothing which 
happened before he was born ; but were his friend just referred 
to, who had so diligently studied the history of the town from 
its foundation, to be quietly " interviewed," it would be no mat- 
ter of surprise to any one who knew the loving interest he takes 
in the subject, to hear him claim that he was personally ac- 
quainted, more or less intimately, with most of tho original 



38 



settlers. The speaker's memory ran fairly back into the last 
century. One event near its close (he was not sure about any 
thing earlier), an event which spread a deep gloom over the 
whole land, he certainly remembered, — the death of Washing- 
ton ; but even that might have gone into the receptacle of things 
forgotten, but for the simple fact that he, and all the other 
children wlio attended Aunt Hannah's school, wore a badge of 
mourning on the left arm. 

" The scattered children of Leicester ! " Scattered^ indeed ! 
for there was not, probably, a State or Territory in the Union 
where some of them were not to be found. Could his hearers, 
and especially those in middle life, take in, readily, the full 
meaning of the word ? Could they easily realize the marvel- 
lous changes which had taken place, not since this small mu- 
nicipality was organized a hundred and fifty years ago, but 
only during the present century ? Seventy years ago the bounda- 
ries of the United States were Maine and Georgia, the Atlantic 
and the Mississippi ; though even then that great river of the 
West was, to most persons, little more than a myth, — a small 
French settlement at New Orleans, a military post or two on 
its upper waters, to look after the Indians, visited by a few 
wandering trappers, and that was about all : almost as little 
known as when La Salle floated down its current in his little 
canoe, a hundred and twenty years before. A large part of 
Pennsylvania and New York, and the whole of the territory 
north-west of the Ohio, was an almost unbroken wilderness. 
Less than seventy years ago a young man and his wife con- 
cluded to remove from Leicester to what was then called the 
Black River country, in Northern New York, not far from 
Sacket's Harbor. The enterprise was considered so bold and 
daring that it was for weeks the principal topic of conversation 
at every fireside in the town. New England was then the 
East. Some twenty years ago the speaker met a young gentle- 
man from Wisconsin, and asked him whether he had ever been 
East before. " Oh, yes, sir," he replied ; " I have been to Ohio 
several times." What was now the East he did not know. 
The present boundaries of the United States were the Atlantic 
and Pacific, Oregon (saying nothing of our recent purchase 



39 



from Russia), and the Gulf of Mexico. What will tlicy be 
when the children come up liere to celebrate their next jubilee, 
fifty years hence ? Who can tell ? Speaking for himself alone, 
he would say that, inasmuch as there were now good natural 
boundaries on the cast and west, and a fair chance for expan- 
sion latitudinally, he was inclined to believe that neither Eu- 
rope nor Asia would be annexed before that time ; but further 
he would not venture to express an opinion. 

The toast expresses the hope that her scattered children may 
ever retain a kindly regard for the place of their birth. He had 
no commission to speak for others ; many were present to an- 
swer for themselves ; but he liad no doubt what their answer 
would be. For himself, he would say that he loved the dear 
old town from the bottom of his heart. He could apply to it 
in all sincerity the words of the sweetest of English poets, — 

" Where'er I roam, whatever lands I see, 
My heart, untravell'd, fondly turns to thee." 

How could it be otherwise ? Where does the sun rise in such 
glory, or set in such a flood of splendor ? And where has any 
wanderer from the fold ever found a more health-inspiring at- 
mosphere than upon his own native hills ? Indeed, it had been 
said that the old law of life — "threescore and ten" — was 
overruled in Leicester, and that few died there .under the age 
of ninety. But the charm for him was not, solely nor mainly, 
in external nature. It was something more closely intwined 
round the heart. He could not help associating with the place, 
nor fail to remember with the deepest gratitude, the parents 
now sleeping in yonder graveyard, who watched over his child- 
hood and youth with the tenderest care and love ; nor could he 
ever forget the acts of kindness and the words of encourage- 
ment which he received from all the inhabitants of the little 
village, men and women, old and young, and wdiich made his 
early life one long summer day of enjoyment ; nor could he 
forget the many friends, still living, wiio, as often as he visited 
his native home, greeted his coming w'ith a most cordial wel- 
come. He would be glad to present sketches of some of his 



iO 



early friends, long since passed away ; but he was already 
trespassing on time which belonged to others, and he must 
close. 

The growth of the town had been very slow. In 1765, when 
the first State census was taken, the population was 770. In 
1805 it was 2,527, — an increase of only 225 per cent in a 
hundred years, or only 17^ a year. The increase, however, in 
material wealth, and in the comforts of life, had been much 
greater. This slow growth (he was free to confess it) suited 
his old-fashioned notions ; it argued firmness and stability, and 
was in harmony with tiie character of its inhabitants. They 
had never been a fast-going people, but still always making 
headway, though sometimes obliged to beat up against wind 
and tide. 

He begged leave, in conclusion, to propose a toast which he 
thought would meet the approval of the older, and he hoped 
would give no offence to the younger, portion of the audience. 

" The Frosperity of my Native Toivn. May it be in the future what it has 
ever been in the past, — sure, though slow." 

2. " The Old Leicester and the New. On both sides of the sea." 

The President said that in all the preceding remarks of the 
day, we had only gone back to the organization of this town ; 
but we were ready for any emergency, and he was happy to in- 
troduce a gentleman to respond to this sentiment who was old 
enough to have been born in Old Leicester of Old England, and 
who early in life came to this town, was an honored and resi)ccted 
citizen for many years, was one of the " fathers " of the town, 
and faithfully represented us in the State Legislature. He had 
now for many years acted a prominent part in the management 
of one of our great railroad corporations, and he hoped that 
he and the directors of the Boston and Albany Railroad Com- 
pany who were present would live long enough to improve 
their road by bringing it where it ought first to have been built, 
passing very near this and the centre village of Spencer. He 
called upon Abraham Firth, Esq., of Boston, who said, — 



41 



Mr. President and dear Friends, — I have abundant rea- 
sons to remember gratefully this town. Your kind introduc- 
tion, sir, and this generous welcome, are in harmony with all 
the past. I was always treated as one of your kith and kin. 
The name of Leicester is near my heart for all this, and also 
because it is that of the city of my birth on the otiicr side of 
the sea. 

But before I go further, let me thank the Committee of Ar- 
rangements and whoever first suggested this gathering. There 
are generous men, you know, who decry giving prominence to 
places, and who advocate a cosmopolitanism which would indeed 
almost put them beyond our remembrance or serious thought ; 
but I am of those who believe, undoubtingly, that he who is 
the best son, brother, husband, and father, the best lover of 
his native or adopted town, state, and nation, is the very best 
citizen of the world ; and that these relations prepare the way, 
and are the indispensable steps to the larger citizenship. 

And but for the committee, we should not have had, on this 
charming day, the pleasure of the many meetings of long-tried 
and, in so many cases, long-separated friends ; nor the retro- 
spect of the past honorable history of this town, by one of the 
ablest and most loyal of her sons, to which we have all lis- 
tened with so much delight to-day. 

Your toast speaks of the old and new. To the child, yester- 
day is old ; but the higher and broader the culture of the ma- 
ture man, the farther away is the old, and the contrasts of time 
are but the shifting scenes in one great drama, while 

" To Thee ! there's nothing old appears : 
Great God ! there's nothing new." 

But the old, on this occasion, refers to our personal recollec- 
tions and experiences in this town. Mine go back forty-four 
years, or nearly one-third of the time since the town had a 
municipal organization. 

I remember tlie drinking habits of that time vividly. The 
country store in the east village kept an open bar, and no 
thought of shame attached to it. Strong liquors were ollered 
on all social occasions ; at weddings and funerals ; drunken- 

6 



42 

ness was common ; and the general opinion was that all efforts 
to change these ancient customs were fanatical and absurd. 
Experience was on their side, and all experience was against 
the new reform. I remember Dr. Nelson, then in his prime, 
happily yet spared to witness, although not to participate in 
these services, I remember his* coming into the school-house, 
and telling us the time had come to abstain wholly. Scoffs 
and jeers passed idly by him. I honored him then, and have 
honored him ever since for tlie kind, pious, and brave way in 
which he delivered the truth on this subject. And there 
came with him " Addison " Denny to circulate the pledge. 
All thanks and honor to him for that. To-day he is our 
honored President. 

You know, sir, it is sometimes said that the temperance 
efforts of the past did little permanent good ; but every one 
whose memory runs back no farther than mine, and contrasts 
that time with the present, knows better. But don't let me 
deny there were fanatics. Why, sir, how rare it was and is 
to find a man whose reason is so clear that he always maintains 
a true poise ; who neither inclines to the right hand of preju- 
dice nor to the left hand of wilfulness ; wlio is open to the re- 
ception of all truth ; who is 

" Strong witliout rage, 
Without o'erflowing, full. " 

Rare indeed ! How preposterous, then, to expect organizations 
to be always led by such men. No ! no ! we must continually 
act with the fanatics for good, or the fanatics for evil ; for tem- 
perance, or against it. And the appeal then wisely was to be 
right on that grand issue, no matter who were for or who 
against. 

Mr. President, another of the well- remembered facts is the 
long days of labor. In the summer time the factory bell 
rang in at five in the morning, and out at seven and one-half 
in the evening ; one half-hour being given to breakfast, and 
another half-hour to dinner. During the winter it was rung 
later in the morning and later at night, the number of hours 
not being lessened. In other factory villages I have heaid 



43 

of, more hours wove required and given. Oji the farms, in 
the shops of carpenters, blacksmiths, and all other trades I 
knew any thing of, no given number of hours were recognized 
as a day's work. The right of every human being to be pro- 
tected by law against the unreasonable demands of employers, 
and the fact, whicii later observations have demonstrated, that 
more work is usually done in the shorter time, were un- 
recognized, if not unknown. Inventions since tiiat time have 
also powerfully aided discussion in awakening the thought of 
the civilized world, from which has come the legislation here 
and in Europe on this subject. I hail it, as I pass, with devout 
thankfulness and hope. 

Wednesday was a memorable day then, Mr. President, be- 
cause it brought us tlie " Massachusetts Spy." Worcester had no 
daily paper, nor was a daily paper taken in the east village. One 
semi-weekly paper, the " Courier " from Boston^ had one sub- 
scriber. When I was in the post-office in the centre of the town, 
in 1832, only four dailies were taken. They were all from Bos- 
ton, and arrived the day after their date. Perhaps no one prod- 
uct of human skill and thought more conclusively shows the 
quickened intelligence and larger activities of the present, as 
compared with the past, than the newspaper. Of course the tele- 
graph, the wonder of wonders, has done much in effecting this 
change ; but the extent of it, and the power of the press as one 
of its results, are among the many memorable things of our 
time. Last year, let us remind ourselves, we read of the battles 
of the Franco-German war before their smoke had passed away. 
Tiie Louvre and the Hotel de Ville were yet burning as we 
read the astounding news. Forty years ago, no miracle 
would have been more marvellous than this ! Contrast these 
with the declaration of war against Turkey, made at St. Peters- 
burg, April 26, 1828, and which was published in the Boston 
papers June 18, fifty-three days afterwards. The bursting of 
the Thames into Brunei's Tunnel occurred May 17, 1827 ; 
and the account of it appeared in the Boston papers of June 
Z^ ^ forty-four days afterwards. 

I turn now, Mr. President and friends, to a few of the men 
whom I most distinctly call to mind. One of great age was 



44 



Mr. Benjamin Watson, many of wliose descendants are before 
me. He went about in bis "one-boss sbay." He always 
sat in tbe pulpit, because be could tbere bear best tbe public 
service. Over tbese bleak bills be came in all seasons. I 
was a boy, but tbe impression be made on my mind of a saintly 
man yet remains. Wben I bave seen in certain pictures ven- 
erable and exultant faces, waiting for tbe summons to depai-t 
hence, tbey bave brougbt to my mind tbat bumble and rev- 
erent listener. 

Anotber was Mr. Solomon Parsons. He was in tbe battle 
of Monmoutb, and told often in my beaiing of tbe oppressive 
heat of tbat day, and of tbe wounds and sufferings be passed 
through, which bad disabled him for life ; but I remember 
most distinctly of all bis account of General Washington. My 
friend, Hon. W. Flint, who has just sat down, told us he 
remembered his death. This man had often seen him, had 
fought under him, and spoke in such terms of him as one might 
fitly use of a being from another and brighter sphere. 

One whom I need not name was a militia " Captain," — the 
first I had ever seen. He would sit in " that" store and tell 
how " we had whipped tlie Britishers," and " how we always 
should whip them." They were, indeed, a very contemptible 
foe. Now you will readily believe a good deal of what he said 
was new to me. He told the other side of the oft-repeated 
story. I was no little indignant. Ofteii he seemed to me to 
impersonate Mars. Yet a later experience has shown that the 
captain in real war may give a different lesson. Did you not see 
how the sentiments of peace were applauded to the echo lately 
in Boston, when the war-scarred veterans of the Army of the 
Potomac were in council ? And bave you not also beeii glad- 
dened by the sight of our greatest leader in the recent war — 
he who received Lee's sword at Appomattox — taking the initia- 
tive in the Treaty of Washington ? So that the grandest title 
of all shall be his, great as were those which went before ; the 
divinest of all benedictions : " Blessed are tbe peacemakers, 
for they shall be called the children of God." And to-day we 
all see, behind the dark visage of that brave warrior of ours, 
a genuine love of his country. 



45 

Dr. Austin Flint has been referred to, who was known so 
well as the " Old Doctor." No boy of my time will forget him. 
Ilis grasj) was like that of a vice, and he had great joy in 
giving us a welcome by hand-shaking. It showed no want of 
respect when we sometimes went out of our way to avoid his 
all too affectionate greeting. And what a loyal, firm, cheerful, 
trusty citizen he was ! Townis and States and Kingdoms, 
under God, rest upon such men, and rest securely. This 
town was fortunate in having some men of great nobility of 
character, of which class Dr. Flint may stand as a type. 

And there was a " Young Doctor ; " a true son of the old. 
" Doctor Ned," we then called him. There he sits ; but he does 
not now rank among the young men, nor do we now address 
him by his given name. The truth requires me to say that, as 
boys, we had mingled feelings towards him professionally ; but 
it may be some satisfaction to him to know that some of us 
have since gone farther and fared worse. 

Mr. President, one of the events of each day in that former 
time, as you well remember, was the passing of the stages to 
and from Springfield and Albany, How we all stopped to 
watch them as long as they were in sight ! and well we might ; 
for they were the product of large and long experience ; of 
great capital, judged by the standard of that day, and met and 
were themselves the evidence of the increasing intercourse 
among men. Here the stage is not quite among the things of 
the past, and some people are glad of it. They don't like 
changes, and tliey don't want railroads. A few weeks ago an 
Indian chief from the far West was in Boston. His name was 
" Stone Calf," and he said, '" Save us from railroads;" "Don't 
have them built through our territory ; " " They bring there 
bad men ; " " Railroad men are had meny I fear he spoke 
from a bitter experience, and it was reason enough for him. 
I was asked to say something on railroads. It is plain that 
you cannot compete with other communities, on equal terms, 
in any branch of industry, while you are without one. It is 
the fact which explains your slow growth. To be without a 
railroad, to use an expressive phrase, "is to be out in the 
cold." Your young blood and enterprise go elsewliere, aiul 



4f) 



will more and more ; your wealth will slowly follow. You 
cannot stand still ; you must feel the throb of a growing and 
expanding life in your material interests, or that torpidity 
which is the sure symptom of decay. Allow me to say, 
friends, you are abundantly able to su|)ply this want, and the 
expenditure would repay your community many fold. I think, 
too, you will have to depend upon yourselves for it. 

There are two reasons why you are not likely to get a rail- 
road in any other way. 

1st. Branch roads have not generally been found profitable, 
and stockholders don't expect their Directors to do what will 
not pay dividends. 

2d. The managers of existing lines have great outlays be - 
fore them to keep abreast of their urgent needs. Take, for 
illustration, the Boston and Albany. It ought to have a great 
passenger station in Boston on the scale of some of the mag- 
nificent London stations. It is to have a great one in Worces- 
ter in due time. It needs, and is building and buying 
more and more cars, for its urgent necessities. It is intro- 
ducing steel rails ; laying new tracks ; straightening its curves ; 
increasing the number and quality of its trains. And to do 
all these things, many hundreds of thousands of dollars are, 
or will be required. I respectfully submit, then, that there is 
no just ground of complaint, if the Boston and Albany will not 
build your road. 

Of course, Mr. President, a road may be built by, and be 
profitable to, a town, although it may never pay a dividend. 
Am I asked how to proceed ? Ascertain the best points of 
connection and the best routes. Look it through thoroughly. 
Then the question of gauge must have careful attention. If 
the common one of 4 feet Sh inches is chosen because of its 
manifest advantages in enabling the rolling-stock of other 
roads to pass over it; in saving the breaking of bulk, and in 
enabling you to make better terms with the trunk line with 
which you would connect, build one of that gauge and accord- 
ing to your means, having regard mainly to safety. 

Consider, however, the claims of the narrow gauge, which 
means one between 2 feet and 3 feet 6 niches. For branch 



47 



lilies, or for main lines in mountainous districts, it is received 
with deserved favor. Last summer I went out of my way to 
North Wales, between one and two hundred miles, to see the 
Festiiiiog railway, pronounced, truly, the most wonderful road 
in the world. Its gauge is 23 inches. It is about 13 miles long, 
and climbs up 700 feet among the Welsh hills to bring slate to 
the coast at Portmadoc. It has been the most profitable one 
in Great Britain. Its dividends have averaged 12^ per cent 
upon its total cost, after all its changes from horse to steam. 
1 rode upon it at a speed of not less than twenty-five miles an 
hour. The best engineers said before parliamentary commis- 
sioners it was too narrow for steam to be used upon it with 
safety, and tliey thought it impracticable ; and but one locomo- 
tive firm, the Messrs. England, of Hatcham, would undertake 
it. But the impossible was accomplished. Its speed was 
restricted to twelve miles, on the ground again of safety, but 
experience showed this was a mistake ; and it is now unre- 
stricted. With its Fairlie engines, which have proved very 
successful, its capacity has been greatly enlarged. Mr. Spooner, 
its engineer, who has had more experience with the narrow 
gauge than any other man living of his profession, advises a 
gauge of 2 feet and 6 inches. It is his opinion that even the 
business of the London and North-western might be done 
upon it. 

In the early part of last year a body of engineers and com- 
missioners of several foreign governments, all of the highest 
character, visited this road, and, after careful observations 
agreed in opinion " that the common gauge is far beyond ordi- 
nary requirements." Captain Tyler, government inspector 
of the English railways, has said that a system of narrow- 
gauge lines would cost only two-thirds as much, and be main- 
tained at three-fourths of the expense of those in general use. 

But how came this " battle of the gauges " ? Tracks were 
used, as you know, in the coal-mines, on which cars were 
pushed by hand. Afterwards these tracks were extended, 
outside of the mines, and drawn by horses. No one knows 
when, or why, or by whom, it was decided tbat the first 
wuoden tracks siiould be 4 feet 8^ inches wide. It was 



48 



enough that they answered their purpose. When, however, 
Stephenson made his locomotive for the Liverpool and Man- 
chester road, the question of gauge seems not to have had 
much attention. That of the mines was adopted, as of course ; 
and that decision, as we now see, settled the question for 
nearly all the great lines since constructed. Afterwards Mr. 
Brunei took the ground it was too narrow for speed, comfort, 
and safety; and the Great Western, of England, was built 
with 7-ft. gauge. On this side we had the Erie, of 6 feet ; the 
Ohio and Mississippi, the same; the Great Western and Grand 
Trunk, of Canada, 5* feet. The decision has been made to 
change the Great Western, of England, to the 4 feet 8i inch 
gauge ; the Ohio and Mississippi has been changed already, 
and the Great Western, of Canada, has a third rail, giving it 
the same gauge. And now, Mr. President, the battle con- 
tinues ; but the position of the parties has changed. It is 
no longer between the 4 feet bi inches and the wider, be it 5, 
or 6, or 7 feet. In tliat contest the narrower is master of 
the field, to find itself on the defensive, and assailed by the 
same arguments its friends so successfully urged against its 
rivals. 

But my toast speaks of an old Leicester ; and, in conclusion, 
let me say a few words about the Leicester beyond the sea. 
It is a city of some 90,000, and is known, wherever stockings 
are worn, for its hosiery trade. One account 1 have seen states 
the number engaged in it there at 60,000. Tradition dates the 
settlement of the city as far back as 800 years before the Chris- 
tian era, when a King Lear lived there. Shakspeare received 
from it the chief incidents of the tragedy of that name, 
varying, however, in this, that the old chronicler had the 
abused king and Cordelia restored to their rightful authority. 
It was near Leicester that Richard III. was killed, and there 
he was buried, giving the great dramatist another subject to 
make as immortal as our English speech. Cardinal Wolsey 
died in its Abbey with the pathetic words, — 

" Had I but served my God with half the zeal 
I served my king, he would not in mine age 
Have left me naked to mine enemies." 



49 

It has parts of the old wall behind which it withstood 
sieges of Cromwell and Rupert. To the antiquarian there are 
Roman, Danish, and Saxon memorials, of which time will not 
allow me to speak. It has a Castle in which courts of Justice have 
been held for five hundred years. A house is shown where 
both Bunyan and Wesley preached. Wycliffe is believed to have 
spoken in St. Mary's, and Milman tells us the city was full 
of his followers. It has old churches, — St. Margaret's is one of 
them, — which Saxon and Norman helped to build, and whose 
roofs have heard the prayers of many centuries. The chapel 
is shown where the noble missionary Carey once labored, and 
in which, also, Robert Hall delivered sermons which have gone 
wherever our language is spoken. De Montford, one of its 
Earls, called the Oxford Parliament in which representatives of 
boroughs had seats, and from which dates the House of Com- 
mons. His statue, and that of other benefactors of the town, 
adorn a handsome modern memorial structure, in one of its 
squares, known as the " clock-tower." And now, friends, as 
we have with that really old city, a common name, faith, 
speech, and literature, ought they not to awaken a common 
interest in each other's history, past and future? I think 
so. And to that end your excellent free public library, it is 
hoped, will soon be enriched with Nicholl's " History of 
Leicester and Leicestershire," a work full of local details, and 
illustrated with pictures of churches, castles, abbeys, Roman 
remains, and private residences. To the Literary and Philo- 
sophical Society of that city will be sent Washburn's History 
of our Leicester, together with such other publications as may 
interest an inquirer there who may desire to know what the 
Leicester men and women of this new world have thought and 
done. 

W^ith profound thanks for your close attention, I close with 
this sentiment : — 

" The Leicester of '71. Too higli for a railroad, it has been said ; too low 
to be contented without one. A libtTal public spirit, courage, and the XAU- 
i?o\v GAUGE are the reconcilers by which its valleys may be exalted, its rough 
places made smooth, and the locomotive be brought to the ' Hill.' " 

7- 



50 



3. " The City oj Worcester. While pure water bears health to her 
homes, she cannot forget its source in the green hills of Leicester. The 
current of her busy life is strengthened by our sons and daughters; and she 
honors us by choosing for her chief magistrate an Earle of Leicester." 

Hon. Edwakd Earle, Mayor of Worcester, was introduced 
to respond, which he did, as follows : — 

Mr. President, — It does me good to look over an audience 
like this, and feel that I hold such a connection as this occasion 
denotes with so much intelligence and worth as is here repre- 
sented. I was invited to be present at this time and respond 
to the sentiment just read by the Toast-master; and feeling 
that if I was titled by Worcester I could not do her justice 
without a few words in reply, but hearing five minutes was 
the time not to be exceeded, concluded as much less as was 
convenient might be chosen, and prepared a short set speech, 
which I now give you. 

My few months' study in yonder academy did not embrace 
rhetoric, neither did our alma mater endow all her sons with 
the gift of oratory, like the one we have listened to with so 
much interest this forenoon. But of the city of my adoption 
I feel a just sense of pride in saying she ever stands ready to 
accord to all her neighbors full credit for all these good things. 
And who can say she has not laid some pipes and pulled many 
wires for Leicester ? Her bulwarks are her shops of industry 
and her temples of education. Her palaces are the homes of 
their directors ; her people proclaim with open arms, Come one, 
come all ; all may come that will come. 

Now, my friends, the five minutes, and the three times five, 
which one if not both of those who preceded me have occupied, 
seems to give me liberty to say a few words in regard to my 
position. Till within a little more than two years past my life 
had been an active, practical one, so much so that I felt my 
time had come for some change ; and with a view to devote 
much of my future to charitable, benevolent, and patriotic pur- 
poses, 1 closed my most active business connections, and had 
truly enjoyed the benefit and comfort of the change. Last 
autumn 1 was called upon to spend three months out amongst 



51 

the Indians in connection with the measures being carried on 
by Friends, under the peace policy of President Grant. On my 
return the first of the year, the city of Worcester had not for- 
gotten to mourn for him who had so long and so faithfully 
served them as their chief magistrate. He had been taken 
from tliem by a sudden and unlooked-for death in my absence, 
and they were now to look for a new man, and soon api)roaciied 
me. I could not listen to it at all for a time, and resisted as 
long as I honorably could, but to no purpose. Tliey over- 
powered me, and bestowed upon me what they termed an honor 
(I iiave often thought they must have been hard pushed for a 
candidate) ; as the world goes it is esteemed an honor, and it 
was honorable both to Leicester and Worcester, in one point, 
for the present incumbent was elected really as a temperance 
man, — which is the general character of Leicester men. 
Were I to take myself back in memory fifty years, I could talk 
in a broken way for a long time ; but fearing I might stand in 
the way of others and weary you, I will now close, feeling that 
this day is one that all of us must remember with much joy. 

4. " Spencer. Our eldest daugliter, — child of our youth. Though she 
has far outgrown her parent, we glory in her enterprise, Industry, and 
wealth. Her children are as welcome as our own." 

Emerson Stone, Esq., responded. He related the difficulties 
experienced in procuring the act of incorporation for Spencer 
in 1742, twenty-one years after the incorporation of Leicester, 
at w^hich time it passed the General Court, but was vetoed l)y 
Governor Shirley ; seven years later it was again attempted, and 
again vetoed ; but in 1753, an act of incorporation w^as granted, 
and the town was named Spencer, in honor of Governor Spen- 
cer Phips. He spoke of the years of toil and hardship experi- 
enced by the settlers after they set up in a town hy themselves, 
until, after thirty-three years of uncertainty and homesickness, 
they had been smiled upon by prosperity at every decade, and 
from five houses the number had grown to six hundred, with 
nine boot shops, four woollen mills, two wire mills, and a 
l)opulation of four thousand. He added that if Spencer con- 
tinued to prosper, she might yet be able to take charge of her 



5'2 



mother town of Leicester, like a dutiful and affectionate child ; 
and then, perhaps, further prosperity would enable her to take 
charge of Worcester, which city would then be able to vote 
" No" on the beer question. 

5. " Paxion. A oLild that lias inherit* d the qniotj easy disposition of 
its parent. Unambitious of wealth or fame, her ways are pleasantness, and 
her paths are peace." 

H. W. Hubbard, Esq., responded as follows: — 

Paxton is pleased to be recognized by old Leicester on this 
glorious Fourth of July. She has not increased in population 
as some of the otiier daughters ; cannot show such mammoth 
warehouses and gigantic manufacturing establishments ; but 
she hopes to gladden the old mother's heart by that inward 
purity and grace that is so becoming to little people and towns 
of the size of Paxton ; she is young, and few in years, — being 
only about one hujidred years old or so, — while Leicester is 
one hundred and fifty. 

Oh ! strong ma}' be Paxton in the power of loveliness and 3'outh, 
And rick in her hearts' treasured dower of strong, unchanging truth. 

6. "A^iburn. The only portion of our original territory which can be 
described as a ' village of the plain.' May it more and more entitle itself to 
that other appellation which Goldsmith gave its prototype, and all men con- 
fess it to be the ' loveliest,' as it is the youngest of the family." 

John Mellish, Esq.*, responded. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — After what we 
have heard from the distinguished and learned gentlemen who 
have so fully furnished the intellect with its treat, nothing re- 
mains but to respond as I may, in few words, to the sentiment 
which embraces the name of the town which I have adopted as 
my home. 

JJy the act of incorporation of the town of Ward, Leicester 
lost its south-easterly corner, in form approximating that of an 
equilateral triangle, and containing about 2,500 acres. Worces- 
ter contributed about 2,200 acres ; and the rest of the town 
was taken from the towns of Sutton and Oxford, and from an 



53 



unincorporated tract of land called the " Oxford North Gore." 
It was named in honor of Major-General Artemas Ward, of 
Shrewsbury. 

In 1837, the name of the town was changed from Ward to 
Auburn, not, as some have seemed to suppose, for the reason 
that the latter is the more poetic name or more euphonious 
word, but mainly because the name of the town of Ware so 
nearly resembled that of Ward, when not carefully written, as 
to cause provoking delays in letters arriving at their intended 
destination. 

The sentiment designates Auburn as the " village of the 
plain," for the reason, it may bo, that the eminence on which 
it is situated is less in its altitude than is the " hill " on wliich 
this beautiful village of Leicester is built ; or from the idea asso- 
ciated with the village called its prototype, referred to in the 
sentiment. 

But let me say of Auburn, It is a place where " industrious 
habits reign ; " hence it is a place of thrift ; and here, if any- 
where, it is that the poet's idea of the " golden mean " is 
realized ; where none 

" Feel the Avants that pinch tlie poor, 
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door." 

Auburn is a peaceful town ; so that no pettifogger would be 
able to incite litigation sufficient to furnish him the most mea- 
gre support. 

It is also a healthy town ; so that a physician, however skil- 
ful, must to a great degree rely for support on such practice as 
may be obtained outside of its limits. 

Auburn has also a healthful regard for moral and religious 
principle ; consequently its inhabitants, in goodly numbers, 
obey the summons of the " church-going bell." 

Some interesting facts pertaining to the history of the town, 
or anecdotes of its people of by-gone generations, might here 
be related ; but I refrain from trespassing on your time for 
that purpose, and only ask, Mr. President, permission as an 
old man to offer a single piece of advice to such of the young 
in this great company as enjoy the perusal of books which 



54 



shall at once afford amusement, entertainment, and instruction. 
I say, let them for a time give the go-by to the newest novels, 
and rather obtain and road the " Historical Sketches of the 
Town of Leicester," by Emory Washburn. 
I will close by giving you — 

" The Towns of Leicester, Spencer, Paxton, and Auhvrn. May tln'ir 
prosperity be secured for the future by their continuing their hal)its of in- 
dustry, and their regard for moral and religious principle." 

7. ^^ Our Soldiers in the late War. We delight to cherish the n.eniory 
of their deeds, with those of their Revolutionary sires. ]May their I'xaniple 
ever inspire their countrymen in the hour of peril ; may they live well- 
rounded lives, as happy in the future as they have been glorious in the past, 
and fnid in the honor and prosperity of their country their highest reward." 

Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Titus, of Worcester, responded as 
follows : — 

Mr. President, — It is not my purpose to pronounce an 
eulogy on the conduct of your brave citizen-soldiers. That 
duty properly belongs to others who surveyed the field with 
more disinterested tl\Dught and observation. 

. But I may be indulged for a moment in an effort to uphold 
the patriotic rectitude which summoned these men to the con- 
test when the country whose birth we celebrate was threatened 
by its disorganizing foes. That hour, indeed, tried men's souls ; 
ignorance of duty then bespoke a nerveless and sickly ambi- 
tiou, beautiful in the serene atmosphere of peace, but helpless 
and useless in the moment of exigency. 

Not such, however, was the spirit which animated the breasts 
of the noble men who represented the ancient town of Leices- 
ter in the late war. They responded to a sublime principle 
of true patriotism, and offered their services on every field. 

The detached records kept by the various men who served in 
separate organizations, and on widely separate fields, disclose 
the interesting and important fact that in nearly every impor- 
tant campaign of the war, and in most of its principal battles, 
old Leicester was represented by some brave son. 

This fact, with its details, forms the nucleus of a luminous 



55 



chapter in the history of the Leicester of to-day ; and the mate- 
rials slionld be at once intrusted to the hands of a faithful and 
discerning historian. 

The veterans of to-day, with a proud conception of the duty 
done and of the institutions perpetuated by their efforts, as- 
semble here to share with you the abundant fruition of their 
labors : they boast of no inborn inspiration to noble and patri- 
otic deeds and sufferings, but fully attribute to their country, 
and their country's religion and law, the credit of educating 
them to the rational defence of civil liberty. 

Those of us who bore a humble part in the war gladly recog- 
nize, in the age in which we live, the courage to do and dare 
which was so illustrious in our Revolutionary fathers. The 
iron blood matured in their veins by frequent conflict with in- 
justice, has not turned to water in its transmission to us through 
three generations of their successors ; their motives, their prin- 
ciples, their fidelity and resolution, have been faithfully reflected 
in the conduct of their children. 

They planted seed whose product has enriched the soil that 
nourished it. To iis has fallen the duty of preserving this 
rich patrimqny from unskilful and thriftless management. 

The present comes to us laden with weighty responsibilities 
and trusts : with these responsibilities properly performed, and 
these trusts faithfully discharged, the future will be safe. The 
history of the past is sealed, l)ut not without its testimony to 
the brave and true. The names of the dead shall be the choic- 
ests relics of the household shrine. Their memories shall 
gather deeper verdure and fresher fragrance as time glides on. 
Heaven grant that the living, with their enviable and glorious 
experience, with their recollection of the past fraught with 
danger to freedom, and their renown resting on their heads, 
may, by a strict adherence to truth, transmit the legacy of their 
fathers to worthy sons, having enriched the bequest with 
all the embellishments of wisdom, and the achievements of 
progress ! 

Fellow-soldiers ! Fame has bestowed on you her richest 
praise. Our flag, unsullied, waving serenely over our country 
and her commerce ; our laws, assuring justice and ecjuality to 



56 



every sou of Adam ; our institutions of learning, scattering their 
treasures among all classes of our busy po})ulation, — these 
and the thousand other blessings clustering about our govern- 
ment, all saved by your efforts, shall, by their beneficence 
at home and their power abroad, perpetually repeat, through 
coming generations, the encomium which is ever the greatest 
reward of the sincere and faithful citizen. 

A choir of singers, on a raised platform at the west end of 
the tent, here sang the " Star-spangled Banner," accompanied 
by a piano and several band pieces, with fine effect. 

8. " The Orator of the Day. A son of Leicester, who, in the Legisla- 
ture, at the bar, on the bench, in the chair of the chief magistrate, and in 
that of a professor of Harvard University, has reflected honor upon the 
place of his birth. We rejoice that his fondest memories linger here, and 
that through his living efforts our local history has been preserved to pos- 
terity." 

Mr. Washburn, in response, said he had already taxed the 
indulgence of his friends too severely that day, to be willing to 
trespass upon their attention again, if the sentiment had not 
made certain personal allusions, which ought not, to pass un- 
noticed. His fondest memories were, indeed, connected with 
tiiis spot, because they were associated with the scenes of his 
cliildhood, and the hopes of his early manhood. Every object 
around him on which his eye rested had a story to tell of 
happy hours spent here, and brought back the recollection of 
friends whose kindness he could never forget. He would not 
have referred to the marks of public favor which he had shared, 
to which allusion had been made, if it had not been to acknowl- 
edge, as he desired to do, how much of whatever of success he 
had enjoyed in life he owed to the aid and encouragement 
which he received from friends here in his early life. They 
had taken him by the hand and helped him on his way, and 
had been willing to overlook the follies and mistakes of his 
youth, while they cheered him in his efforts with words of hope 
and encouragement. But above all he ought to acknowledge 
that he owed whatever he had achieved to one whose memory 
would ever be sacred in his thoughts. They all knew that by 



57 



the early death of a fatlicr, ho had been left an orphan boy, 
dependent alone upon the kindness of a mother for his support, 
and upon her counsels for guidance and direction in his child- 
hood, and for whatever aid or patronage he had received in 
fitting him to start in life. And it was to her influence and 
example that he was indebted for whatever claims he might 
have been supposed to have evinced for the favor with which 
he had been regarded. 

And in paying this humble tribute to his own mother, he 
was but doing that justice which was due to the mothers as a 
class, who, in his early days, were emulating the example of 
those who had illustrated the noble sphere of woman, by in- 
spiring the traits of, character in this community which had 
honorably distinguished the town in its earlier history. The 
proprieties of the occasion would not admit of calling these by 
name, and he must content himself with offering as a senti- 
ment, — 

" The Memory of our Mothers. Their influence sanctilied and their wisdom 
helped to form the policy and opinions which in times past have made Leices- 
ter honored among her sister communities." 

9. " The Clergy. New England owes much of her greatness to their 
liberal and scholarly Christian spirit; and Leicester, on this anniversary, 
gratefully recognizes her indebtedness to her own ministry, whose interest 
is manifest in her character and in all her best institutions." 

Joseph L. Partridge, Esq., responded to this by reading the 
following letter from Dr. Nelson, whose age forbade his re- 
sponse in person : — 

Fellow-townsmen and Friends, — Leicester has been set- 
tled as a town one hundred and fifty years. Ten years more 
than "half of this whole period I have lived in the world ; and 
nine years more than one-third of it I have been an inhabitant 
of the town. 

The first time I saw Leicester, in about 1800, I rode on 
horseback from Worcester behind my uncle, who was then at- 
tending the Academy. I went into the Academy building with 
him, which was long and shapeless in its form, and situated 

8 



58 



quite down to the road. It was interesting to rac, as Leicester 
Academy was then famous, not only in the county, but through- 
out the Commonwealth. Besides, the building, as I understood, 
had been the trading-house of a rich company of Jews during 
the Revolutionary war, of which I had heard marvellous 
stories. 

In 1812, I began my permanent residence in Leicester ; and 
now the memories, the associations, and the attachments of all 
but sixty years from that date cause me to feel, as it were, 
fused into it, and to become almost a native. It is indeed a 
trial that age and weakness must prevent my being present 
with the Jmnil'/j gathering to-day, if only as a specimen of its 
antiquity. Much more I regret it, as tljese infirmities must 
prevent my expressing by the living voice the many good 
things I would be glad to say of the old homestead. 

Certainly it would give me pleasure to call attention to a few 
of the interesting occurrences and changes that have taken 
place during the long time of my residence in the town. But 
this, if it were otherwise desirable, is rendered unnecessary by 
the fact that the Orator of the day, always interested in his 
native town, and always devoted to its honor and welfare, has 
gone side by side with me in his observations, and put on rec- 
ord more of the history of Leicester than I could have gathered 
from the failing storehouse of my memory. But the old man 
and the scarcely less aged companion and fellow-pilgrim of his 
long and favored life can and do unitedly send their cordial 
greetings to Leicester's gathered sons and daughters with their 
friends and guests. May Heaven's choicest blessings rest on 
them, and the coming generations that may dwell in these val- 
leys, or that may emigrate from them ! 

The President then introduced Rev. A. C. Dentson, of Mid- 
dlcfield, Ct., who was settled in Leicester, as the first colleague 
of the Rev. Dr. Nelson, in 1851, and was for five years the 
much-loved junior pastor of the original society in that place. 

Mr. Denison said : — 

Mr. President, — With great satisfaction has one of the 
wandering prodigals to whom you have referred, accepted the 



59 



invitation to return to-day to this paternal board. But not 
with equal satisfaction can he respond to the call witli which 
he has been so unexpectedly honored, of contributing to tliia 
entertainment. For after that feast of reason (and turkey) 
and flow of soul (and the cup which cheers but not inebriates) 
with which we have been so sumptuously regaled, he may well 
fear that the few crumbs which he may bring will be stale and 
insipid enough. There are a thousand tongues here to-day to 
which he would much rather listen than to his own ; and this 
shall soon be silent, that those may be tlie sooner and the 
longer heard. 

In behalf of my profession, however, I would gratefully ac- 
knowledge the compliment which your toast pays the clergy of 
New England. And having personally so little claim to the 
credit it ascrilJes to the clergy of Leicester, I may the more 
freely speak of those to wiiom such honor is justly due. I 
need not speak (as my heart would prompt) of the character 
and ability of those now on the stage of active life ; for tlieir 
acceptable and beneficent labors are actions which speak louder 
than words, and render words superfluous. Nor need I speak 
for those so abundantly able to speak for themselves, to wliose 
dissent I cheerfully accord my assent, and whose names and 
memory Leicester will never cease to cherish. But, on such an 
occasion as this, we surely cannot forget one who has been so 
long and so closely identified with all the interests of this 
town, and who is himself so prominent a part of its history for 
about two-fifths of the entire period of its corporate existence. 
It were well worth the journey hither to see again that vener- 
able form, and to hear a few words from the lips which have so 
often tauglit our willing ears lessons of heavenly wisdom. But, 
though we see him not before us here to-day, we cannot fail to 
see all around us the impress and reflection of his character 
and influence. The temporal prosperity of this community, the 
temperance, morality, industry, public spirit, and good order 
which here prevail, are the result in no small degree, as has 
well been said, of his teachings and example. It is a blessing 
which falls to the lot of few communities to enjoy so long the 
labors of such a man, — a blessing whose value is not easily 



60 



computed ; and in the present case we rejoice to say the time 
for justly estimating it has not yet arrived. It is to the credit 
of this good pastor and this good town, that each has appre- 
ciated the other so well as to live together so long and so 
happily. 

History tells us that an ancient potentate, to commemorate 
his memory, caused a mountain of rock to be carved into a 
likeness of himself, hoping thus to perpetuate his features to 
the remotest time. Our venerable friend has done better than 
this. Not with selfish ambition or for ostentatious display, but 
in the earnest, quiet labors of a Christian pastor and friend, he 
has impressed his moral features on what is more imperishable 
than the mountain rock, — these thousands of loving. Chris- 
tian hearts. These shall be his memorial when the mountains 
shall crumble, and tlie rocks decay, and the -elements melt 
with fervent heat. How many of these have already gone be- 
fore to welcome him to the heavenly land ! How many yet on 
earth " rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the 
old man, and call him blessed " ! How many can unite in that 
prayer, uttered for another in another age and tongue ! — 

" Serus in codum redcal," — 

" Late may he return to heaven." 

God bless the dear old pastor of this dear old First Church ! 
May the sun of his life set in peaceful serenity, after its declin- 
ing rays have long gilded, with a gentle radiance, the scenes 
which its mid-day beams have made so bright and fertile ! 

The President then said, — We have another member of the 
honored clergy among us, who belongs to a different religious 
denomination from that just represented, and who was for 
many years the loved and respected pastor of one of our 
churches in the village, and always a valuable member of our 
community, — and called on Rev. Samuel May for remarks. 

Mr. May said : The kind and courteous introduction of our 
President deserves and has my warmest acknowledgment. 
And 1 wish to join, sir, in the heartiest and most unqualified 



61 

manner, in the tribute of respect now paid to the clergy of this 
town, and of New England generally. I speak now of the regu- 
lar Congregational ministry of New England for two hundred 
and fifty years. It is impossible to account for the confessedly 
high character which New England, as a whole, has borne, 
without giving a large and leading place to the influence of her 
clergy. This is recognized not less by the evil than by the 
good elements of American society. There are those who 
strive and desire to break down that influence ; but none who 
value intelligence, probity, high principle, and manly character 
are of the number. For fully two centuries the influence of 
tlie New-England ministry and pulpit overtopped all others, 
not excepting the press. And, that their influence was essen- 
tially good and sound, the appeal may safely be made to that 
rule, — the only rule I know which can justly claim the char- 
acter of infallibilify, — "Ye shall know them by their fruits." 
Not only theology and religion and good morals, but all the 
interests of good learning, of science, of popular education, 
depended chiefly upon them. Even the shaping of our social 
system, the enactment of wholesome laws, and the support of 
an honest and beneficent government, were for a long period 
almost exclusively with them. 

Others have more appropriately represented to-day, than I 
can pretend to do, the great body of the New-England minis- 
try. Let me, then, speak a few words for the clergy of dis- 
sent, — for the heretical clergy, as the phrase is, — for wdiat in 
England is called the non-conforming ministry ; and let me 
put in, without vanity or boasting, a claim on their behalf for 
valuable services rendered to New England's best institutions 
and character. 

It isn't well for anybody, you know, Mr. President, to have 
too easy a life. So, sir, if the lesser and heretical sects did no 
other good, they were useful, perhaps, on the principle of " the 
thorn in the flesh," in stirring up their orthodox brethren to 
more vigorous efforts for the faith committed to their charge. 
The heretics were doubtless not untruly accounted troublers of 
the New-England Israel ; but they also afforded favorable sub- 
jects for the spiritual doctors to exercise their dissecting skill 



62 



upon, and so kept those gentlemen in good dialectic and rhe- 
torical i)ractice, and their instruments from getting dull and 
rusty ; and it must be confessed that the latter were not back- 
ward in administering some very vigorous treatment to such as 
came in their way. 

But seriously, sir, tlie influence of dissent, in a moral and 
religious sense, is an important one, and not to be lightly es- 
teemed. 

What, sir, is the great Protestant body, the world over, to 
which nearly every one of us present belongs, but a dissenting 
body ? a forsaker of the One only Apostolic and Catholic Cluirch, 
as it calls itself. Who were the Puritans, the very fathers and 
founders of this New England of ours, but seceders from the 
established Church of their country, disturbers of the English 
Israel, leaving the long-trodden ways of their fatiiers, and com- 
pelled to fly, for conscience' sake, from their homes and native 
land, under pains and penalties, and in peril of their lives ? 
To-day we all honor them, and deem our descent from them 
our highest honor, and the heritage they left us our best pos- 
session. Yet in their day they were accounted pestilent fel- 
lows, and old England thought herself a great gainer in being 
well rid of them. 

Sir, but for dissent, but for that spirit which asserts its free- 
dom against all ecclesiastical as well as kingly authority, our 
New England had never been ; and whatever she has contrib- 
uted to the good of our couiitry and the world would have 
been lost. That spirit agitates and purifies the world's moral 
atmosphere. When guided by a sense of duty and allegiance 
to truth, it is the mightiest power for reform and re-creation 
that the world can know. It is the divinity itself stirring 
within the soul, contending sharply and vehemently sometimes, 
yet striving for the " more light to break forth from God's 
.word," and giving strength to rise above persecution, and hard- 
sliip and dangers, and death even. By its means, too, we get 
that unity in diversity which St. Paul so eloquently describes 
when he speaks of " differences of administration," of " diver- 
sities of operation," but " the same spirit, the same God, work- 
ino- all in all." 



63 



On tins theme it were easy and pleasant to enlarge, bnt the 
time does not allow, and I forl)car. 

We all recognize to-day the high character and valuable 
services of" the New-England clergy. Let us also willingly 
and even gladly honor the j)rinciple of dissent; for of that 
principle we and our fathers all were born. Let us not fear to 
follow the motions and leadings of the soul within us. Let us 
encourage the search for all truth, and make it fearless, 
while we keep it reverent and modest. And let us willingly 
believe that, " after the way some call heresy," men may tr\ily 
" worship the God of our fathers." 

So to-day, sir, we cheerfully recognize the good work done 
for Leicester and for all New England by her clergy of every 
name. Most of all must we honor them, when above all forms 
they prefer the life and freedom of the human soul ; when their 
service is rendered " in newness of the spirit, and not in the 
oldness of the letter ; " when, with a manly and far-reaching 
vision, they subordinate all ecclesiastical rules and arrange- 
ments to the freedom and growth of God's children upon the 
earth. 

Nor can we forget, sir, on this historical occasion, that por- 
tion of the people of Leicester, of whom scarcely more than a' 
single member now remains, who accepted no clergy, recog- 
nized no special ministry, — the so-called "Friends." Once 
they were numerous here, and that within the recollection of 
most of this audience. But now their house of meeting and 
worship stands silent in yonder woods, and the venerable forms 
of men and women which once gave such a dignity and charm 
to those precincts lie around it in many unnamed graves. We 
do not, and we cannot, forget their worth, the influence of their 
peculiar spirit, the lessons of integrity they taught here, the 
courtesy and good-will of their simple manners. 

Therefore we rejoice to-day in all these memories, in all that 
God has done for us and for our fathers. We recognize, joy- 
fully, his providence upholding all, leading us all, saving our 
nation in many a fearful peril, even with a mighty hand and 
an outstretched arm. We gratefully bless him for the peace, 
prosperity, and ample field of progress in knowledge and in 



64 

justice, which he grants us ; and reverently say, May God be 
with us and our children, as he was with our fathers ! 

10. " Leicester Academy. Coeval in its orijiln with the American Repub- 
lic, and like it still ilourishing in vigorous and useful life, its benign influ- 
ences have been felt for nearly a century in every part of the land. May 
it remain to tell future generations of the wisdom and liberality of its 
founders." 

Joseph L. Partridge, Esq., of Lawrence, responded, in the 
absence of Judge Chapin, as follows : — 

Mr. President, —I do exceedingly regret, and I know that 
this large company must much more regret, that the gentleman 
who was expected to respond to this sentiment fails to do so. 

It certainly is appropriate, on this day of so many hallowed 
and happy reminiscences to this asseml)ly, that Leicester 
Academy should receive honorable mention. 

Li the failure to which I have allnded, you may perhaps, 
sir, have been led to call upon me for a response, by the fact 
that I am now the oldest surviving principal preceptor of the 
institution. Unexpectedly called upon, as I am, my remarks 
will have one element which I know will be acceptable at this 
late hour, — they will be brief. 

This Academy, chartered in 1783, — the third in the State, 
— was early among the leading influences in shaping the civil 
and religious institutions of the Commonwealth. Highly 
creditable, too, has been her standing among scientific and lit- 
erary institutions, as they have multiplied from that period to 
the present. 

Li her material embodiment here, she stands looking down 
upon her sons and daughters with silent approval, in the midst 
of these festivities. But her spirit pervades the continent. 

We have had portrayed to us, by the Orator of the day, the 
origin and the progress, from her infancy, of this among the earli- 
est townships of the colony, the influence of her civilians in 
the legislative councils, and the prowess of her soldiers on 
numerous battle-fields, early and recent, which established and 
have secured the nation's liberties. We point with pride to 
this Academy as among the chief sources of this influence. 



65 



We have been reminded, too, how widely scattered, from 
North to South, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, are the 
sons and daughters of Leicester, and of their honorable posi- 
tion wherever located. 

In a word, then, sir, as the most fitting response that can be 
made to the sentiment you propose to " Leicester Academy," I 
appeal to the hii^^k standing in intelligence and virtue of the suc- 
cessive generations whose characters have been formed under 
the shadow of this institution, both those who have " tarried 
by the stuff," and those who, in person, have disseminated this 
influence to the boundaries of the nation. 

The band was called upon to play at this point, the regular 
toasts having been disposed of; and voluntary sentiments and 
speaking were called for. 

The President remarked that, in the address of this fore- 
noon, allusion had been made to the resistance offered to the 
passage of the Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers 
through the streets of Baltimore in 1861, and said that he saw 
before him an honored son of Leicester who commanded that 
regiment at the time, and could tell us all about it. 

He introduced General Edward F. Jones, of Binghampton, 
N. Y., who responded as follows : — 

Mr. President and Friends of my Boyhood, — I came here 
to-day to mingle my greetings with yours, not expecting to 
speak ; but I should be sadly wanting in courtesy, did I not at 
least thank you for the compliment conveyed by your call ; 
which I heartily do. Your toast implies that you expect me 
to recount the scenes of the first blood of the Rel)ellion, when 
the mob attacked the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment (which I 
had the honor to command) on its passage through Baltimore, 
on the 19th of April, 18G1. Those scenes, long since passed, 
furnish a prominent page in the history of our country; and, 
being so familiar to all, need not be further adverted to here, 
except to say that the sons of Leicester did not disgrace their 



66 



old mother on that occasion, nor in the hundreds that followed, 
in which they were engaged with either the army or the navy. 
" Out of the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh." How 
can I, on such an occasion as this, think, much less s})eak, on 
any subject but the scenes of my childhood ? Their memory 
crowds away all other subjects ; and I am for the moment a boy 
again, and feel as if I could only with trembling lips say, — 

" You'd scarce expect one of my age 
To speak iu public on the stage." 

But, my friends, if I must talk to you about the army and 
navy, the only picture of the army that is at all fresh in my 
mind is that of my barefooted playfellows, who, with tin pan 
for a drum, wooden swords, and broomsticks for gims, made 
every neighborhood which we invaded uninhabitable, more 
from the din of our music than the devastation of our march ; 
and as for the navy, none is at this moment rememberable, 
unless it be the two old fiat-bottom boats that were on Upper 
Tophet Pond. 

As I came into town this morning, after an absence of more 
than twenty-five years, I stopped for a moment at the house of 
the Rev. Dr. Nelson, that good old man who has been so feel- 
ingly referred to in to-day's proceedings, and who fills so large 
a place in the hearts of the people of Leicester. The grasp of 
his hand did not seem to satisfy me ; and, had I followed the 
impulse of my heart, with bended knee would I have craved a 
blessing from this patriarch in Israel. 

Passing up the street, by the residence of Dr. Flint, the 
remembrance of an old grudge against him came fresh to my 
mind. I am sorry that he has left, but will appeal to your 
sympathies, and ask if there is not justification for a painful 
recollection of him. After suffering beyond my boyish endur- 
ance with the toothache, it was finally decided that nothing but 
a judicious application of cold steel could stop it. After re- 
peated failures 1 finally mustered up sufficient courage to start 
for the doctor's ; but it seemed to be a question whether I had 
pluck enough to last me the quarter of a mile I had to go, 
but got there somehow. You no doubt have heard the say- 



67 



ing, " The sight of you is good for sore eyes ; " well, the sight 
of the doctor cured my toothache, and I wanted to go liomc, 
but it was of no use ; it was a very healtliy season, and 
the doctor had a plenty of leisure and but few patients ; he 
was bound to have that quarter, the mercenary wretch ; it was 
finally compromised by his agreeing to give me a ninepence, 
and I, like a fool, sat down on the floor and trusted my head 
between his knees — ough — do any of you remember his old 
turnkey? he was a tender man, he was ; and so, not to hurt 
my mouth with his old snag-puller, he took his red bandanna 
and wound around the instrument so that it filled my mouth 
and some to spare ; and what added to the enjoyment of the 
occasion, as if any addition was necessary, the doctor took 
snulT, — bah ! — and to this day I have never been able to decide 
which was the worst, the toothache, the snuffy handkerchief, 
or the pulling. Did any of you ever get as much for a nine- 
pence? 

Sitting here to-day on these hard seats brings to mind those 
other hard seats over there in the Academy; and, in further- 
ance of the illusion, there sits our old preceptor, Mr. Partridge. 
Whispering to a friend just now, I looked up and caught Mr. 
Partridge's eye: he either did not see me whispering, or 
thought he would overlook it for this once. 

But, my friends, with all our hand-shakings and glad greet- 
ings, there is a sad side to our festivities. To those hkc my- 
self who have not been here for many years, there seem many 
vacant places at this festive board. Many a face whose smile 
of welcome we expected has vanished from earthly scenes. 
We miss the warm hand-clasp of almost numberless expectant 
friends. In my first greetings this morning, I gayly asked after 
the absent ones, but the answer, dead, shocked and startled 
me by its frequency ; so 1 gladly welcomed those I saw, and 
asked not for the absent, for 'tis pleasanter that one's friends 
should live in memory than to know that they are dead. 

Again thanking you for your kindly welcome, I bid you good- 
by, hoping that you will not let many years pass before you 
bid your sons and daughters home again. 



68 



The President read the following volunteer sentiment: — 

" Hon. Nathan Sargent. An lionored descendant of a patriotic aneestoi* 
of the same name, who has exhibited in the civil sorvice of the government 
the sterling honesty and integrity of character he inherited from his 
ancestors." 

To which Hon. Nathan Sargent, of Washington, D. C, 
responded as follows : — 

Mr. President, — In rising to respond to the sentiment you 
have kindly announced, I must first express the very great 
pleasure it ha*^ given me to receive an invitation to be present 
at this celebration. 

Though not one of the sons of Leicester, I am, at least, a 
grandson.) since both of my parents were " to the manor born," 
and Leicester holds within her bosom all that was mortal of my 
grandparents, paternal and maternal, and great numbers of 
others of my kith and kin. Her soil is, therefore, sacred 
to me. 

You have been pleased to remember, on this occasion, the 
Sargent family : and it strangely happens that I am the only 
representative of that family now present, bearing the Sargent 
name, though one of them owns and occupies the old homestead 
where he whose honored name I bear settled about one hun- 
dred and thirty years ago, and upon which he lived fifty-six or 
fifty-eight years, and his second wife, my grandmother, seventy- 
one years. The name of Nathan Sargent was therefore, for 
the period of two generations, familiar to the Leicester people, 
and few were more respected. 

But, Mr. President, I came not to pronounce a eulogy upon 
my ancestors, nor to exhume them ; but, representing and 
being expected to say something of them, though in the brief- 
est manner, I will simply illustrate their character by one or 
two personal anecdotes. 

And first, let me say, their characters were formed, as others 
are, by the times in which they lived, the general mode of 
thinking, the soil they tilled, and the climate by which they 
were surrounded. The two latter were rough and ungenial. 
Nothing could be obtained from the soil but by ceaseless labor ; 



69 

and, during the few months of seed-time, growth, and harvest, 
they had to provide the necessary food and clothing for them- 
selves and families, and sustenance for their stock during the 
long months and short days of snow and frost. 

They had little time or money to spend in amusements or 
pleasure, and none to throw away ujjou the luxury of lawsuits. 
I hope the anecdote I am about to relate may be as character- 
istic of the good people of Leicester now as it was a hundred 
years ago. 

One of the judges of tiie county court, wliich sat at Worces- 
ter, in conversation with Colonel Heth Washburn, asked him how 
it happened that there were never any suits in that court from 
Leicester. Colonel Washburn replied, "Because our land is 
poor, cold, and rocky, and we have as much as we can do to get 
a living off of it, and no time nor money to spend in lawsuits." 
But they had time and money to spend in establishing an 
Academy, which is a monument to their appreciation of learn- 
ing, their desire to benefit their children and their children's 
children, and an enduring honor to the town. 

Mr. President, anticipating that I might be called upon to 
contribute my mite to this entertainment, and expecting to tell 
you something about the " Sargent family " which was not 
familiar to you all, and which should at the same time illus- 
trate the average character of a Leicester man a century ago, 
I had got together a nice string of anecdotes, set off with a 
few brilliant thoughts and wise reflections, which I calculated 
would be received with great attention, interest, and applause, 
amidst which 1 should resume my seat full of calm delight and 
self-appreciation. But 

" The best-laid sclieines o' mice iin' men 
Gang aft a-gley." 

And so did mine, and that highly interesting speech I was 
to make here was knocked in the head ; for, on looking over 
Washburn's " History of Leicester," I found, to my chagrin, 
he had written it all out there a dozen years ago. 

He has told you that my grandfather, discovering that the 
company of" mimite-men," connnanded by Captain Washburn, 



70 



which had halted in froiit of Mr. Sargent's house, on its march 
to Boston, were destitute of bullets, took the weights from his 
clock and had them run into balls, and that the company was 
thus supplied. Now there is no doubt of the truth of this 
anecdote ; and I have here one of the very bullets thus cast, 
which was picked up on Bunker Hill twenty-odd years ago, 
where that company was engaged in battle. If any one doubts 
whether it is one of the clock-weight bullets, let him prove that 
it is not. 

My paternal ancestor, like the Leicester people generally of 
olden time, had a kindly, benevolent lieart hid away under a 
rough exterior, with a sturdiness of manner more resembling 
the rough climate of Leicester than that of the palm and the 
orange, as will be illustrated by the following anecdote, not to 
be found in Washburn's " History of Leicester." 

There were seasons in the olden time when, owing to late 
or early frosts, the crops, and especially the corn crop, failed. 
To you, peoi)le of Leicester, it is now matter of small moment 
whether your corn crop is a full or a short one, because you 
depend mainly upon other parts of the country for your bread- 
stuffs, which are brought to your doors by means of cheap and 
rapid transportation. 

Not so with our ancestors ; no railroads or steamboats ena- 
bled them to draw supplies from distant parts ; nor did those 
supplies then exist. They had to depend solely upon what they 
themselves raised ; and when an early frost deprived them of their 
necessary supply of corn, they were reduced to great straits. 
During one of these seasons. Colonel Washburn came down, 
like the children of Israel of old, to buy corn, not of Joseph, 
but of Nathan, who, owning and running a mill, had corn to 
sell. " Have you the money to pay for it ? " asked Mr. Sar- 
gent. " Yes," was the reply. " Then you can't have it," said 
Mr. Sargent. " Why not ? " asked Colonel Washburn. " Bo- 
cause you have money, and can go into some other town and 
buy what you need ; the poor of our town have no money, and 
can't get it elsewhere ; and my corn is for them." 

Such was an old-time Leicesterian,or, in the language of the 
day, " a representative man," honest, kind, benevolent, consid- 
erate, plain-si)oken. 



71 



My friend and kinsman, the Orator of the day, and the 
Historian of Leicester, has spoken with filial respect and 
affection of his mother ; and has said that, if he deserved any 
of the honors that had been so liberally (and permit me to 
say justly^ bestowed upon him by his native town and State, 
he owed it all to the influence of his mother. 

Let me follow' his example, and say that, if I am deserving 
of any of the kind expressions contained in the toast you have 
done me the honor to announce, I owe it to a mother born 
and reared in Leicester ; a woman not unworthy of the exem- 
plary and patriotic mothers and daughters among whom she 
was reared, — a pious, intelligent, loving " mother in Israel." 
I was reared under all those influences which formed the 
character of both my parents, and which have come down to 
us all here present from the first settlers of Leicester, our 
noble ancestors. What I am, therefore, I owe in a great 
degree to Leicester. 

Mr. President, I will detain you only to express the hope 
that those who shall celebrate the two hundredth anniversary 
of the organization of this town, aipong whom I hope may be 
my grandson, Nathan Sargent, may find themselves as far in 
advance of us in all that contributes to the health and comfort 
of man, in the industrial arts, education, and general diffusion 
of knowledge, as the present age is in advance of those who 
first put the plough into the rocky hills of your now beautiful 
town. 

I give you in conclusion, — 

" The Mothers of Leicester. To tliem wc owe a dubt of gratitude for the 
moral and religious principles they instilled into the minds of those whose 
lives daily illustrate them at home, as well as those who have carried them 
to distant parts, to take root and spread abroad." 

The toast — 

'^^ Mulberry Grove, — the Home of the Friends. Their firesides were 
love and affection; their thee and tliou, the ever-ready welcome" — 

was responded to by T. K. Earx^io, Esq., of Worcester, as fol- 
lows : — 



72 



As I turn back the record of the past, and live again in the 
" scenes of my childhood," — " the orchard, the meadow, the 
deep-tangled wildwood, and every loved spot that mine in- 
fancy knew," — there comes such a rush of memory, such 
an avalanche of thought, that the poor common words of ex- 
pression can give no measure of the heart's intensity. " Mul- 
berry Grove ! " "What a volume in a word ! The hill of my 
home, the home of my boyhood, tlic joy of my youth, the 
strength of my manhood ! Oh ! as memory goes back to those 
summer Sabbath mornings, I see, in the valley of its worship, 
the gathering of its people in silent devotion, where in the 
stillness of the hour they called for tlie prostration of the soul 
before the Majesty of lieaven, for the offering of spiritual sac- 
rifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 

There was no architectural display, no external rites and 
ceremonies, no delusive charms of musical excitement, save 
the pine-tree's anthem, the warbling birds, and the babbling 
brook. These remain, all else is gone. Their sweet melody 
is ever sounding a requiem over tlie departed, and " Mulberry 
Grove " has ceased to be, and footsteps of angels mark the re- 
pose of its simple people. 

But why look mournfully into the past ? It comes not back 
again. Wisely improve the present : it is ours. Let us go 
forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with manly 
hearts, for it is big with momentous events. We are strug- 
gling in the throes of a new birth : a mighty revolution is 
upon us. 

This labor question will move the foundations of society, 
social and political. Very few comprehend its magnitude. 
Let us read aright the signs of the times, that we may carry 
it to its successful issue ; and by the light of the glorious 
gospel, our wills falling in with God's, the problem shall be 
solved. 

Mr. Washburn asked permission to remind the company of 
what he had already spoken in his address, — the sources of the 
growtli and present prosperity of the town. It led him to re- 
call the changes tlu-ough which the productive industry of the 



73 

town had been passing within his own recollection. He re- 
called an incident which served to mark some of these changes. 
They were all familiar with the succession of manufacturing 
establishments along the stream which flows towards the east 
into the Blackstone, that arc now in constant and successful 
operation. But they should remember this was the result of 
artificial skill and enterprise. He well recollected that, when he 
was ten years old, he, in company with some mates, attempted 
to " go in a-swimming " in that stream, but could not find a 
spot where there was sufficient depth of water to admit of doing 
it. It was upon that stream that a woollen manufactory was 
commenced in 1814, and became the pioneer enterprise of all 
the establishments which were now in operation in the town. 
The name of the individual to which the town owes so much 
ought to be gratefully remembered ; and he begged, therefore, 
to offer as a sentiment, — 

" Samuel Watson, the father and founder of the woollen-manufacturing 
of Leicester. Let his name be honored, for his enterprise has blessed his 
native town." 

Isaac T. Hutchins, Esq., of West KilUngly, Ct., who mar- 
ried the daughter of Samuel Watson, Esq., and who was 
seated by the side of his venerable father-in-law, responded by 
saying, — 

Mr. President, — Although uninvited and unannounced, 
and withal almost an entire stranger, I cannot keep my seat 
while a father near and dear to me has been so highly com- 
plimented, as well in the address to which we have listened as 
here. I was, I confess, as one l)orn to him out of due time ; and, 
what may appear anomalous, I am honored by being his oldest 
as well as youngest child. I am thinking that it is about time we 
dispersed ; else we may perchance, like the three disciples, desire 
to make tabernacles, and remain here permanently. It has 
seemed to me, while listening to the laudations of this locality 
as if, through some oversight, a circuit hereabouts was omitted 
in the otherwise universal apostasy. Indeed, I cannot avouch 
for the truth of the assertion ; but I have often heard it said 

10 



74 



that long ago the citizens of Massachusetts, both male and 
female, met and without a dissenting voice formed themselves 
into a mutual admiration society. I hail, sir, from the land 
of steady habits, — unfortunately as steady to bad ones as 
good ; the first State in the Union and probably spot on the 
globe where education was made substantially free, and will 
probably be the last to exorcise the foul taint of slavery from 
its Constitution. I do not wonder, Mr. President, that you are 
proud of your Commonwealth, among the oldest in the sister- 
hood, — although I have allowed myself to speak thus lightly 
of her. Rev. Mr. May was truly magnanimous, as well as 
eminently just, in his estimate of our Puritan fathers and their 
stern orthodox religious faith. I felt myself personally com- 
plimented, for 1 claim to be a descendant of one of the passengers 
of the Mayflower. Mr. President, did it ever occur to you that 
the two greatest discoveries made in the world, during the 
period you to-day celebrate, were made by the two sons of 
Massachusetts Congregational clergymen ? — the one having 
taught us to speak so loud as to be heard around the world, 
and the other having instructed us how to send messages of 
love, thanksgiving, and praise through the depths of the ocean, 
thus making " dragons and all deeps " to utter the praises of 
their God. Do you doubt, sir, — I do not, — that both of 
these were rocked to sleep in their infancy by the music 
of Watts's cradle hymns, and that both were in their boyhood 
faithfully instructed in the now nearly obsolete Assembly's 
Catechism. 

That one of these was thus early instructed in the puritanic 
faith is faintly shadowed forth by his reverent repetition of a 
passage of Scripture, at the recent unveiling of a monument 
erected to his honor : " Not unto us, not unto us, but to Thy 
name be the praise." I will detain you only to add that while 
thus taking a cursory retrospect of the vast discoveries made, 
and the signal events which have transpired, during the last 
century and a half, the inquiry comes unbidden. What shall 
come to pass during the same period in the future ? We at- 
tentively listen, and the only response which returns back to us 
is the faint whisper, What ? 



75 



Simon P. Hastings, Esq., of Philadelphia, was then called 
out, who said, — 

It is with mingled feelings of pain and pleasure, of joy and 
sadness, that a crowd of reminiscences, covering a i)criod of 
more than fifty years, come rushing in upon me, in spite of 
myself and all I see around me. Recollections of innoccncy 
and tender childhood, of a devoted and dearly beloved 
mother, my father and eleven loving brothers and sisters, — 
eight of whom, with father and mother, have gone to their 
reward. 

The fathers and mothers of fifty years ago, and their children 
who were my play and school companions, — where are they? 
With few exceptions, their perishable bodies lie in yonder cem- 
eteries, mouldering and mingling with the common earth, the 
way of all flesh. 

Forty-seven years have been numbered with the past since I, 
a lad of thirteen, left, with her blessing and benediction, the 
hospitable home of the sainted mother of the honored, beloved, 
and respected orator who has to-day charmed us with his 
eloquence ; and to-day I am permitted to return to the loved 
scenes of childhood with a heart overflowing with gratitude to 
our Heavenly Father, whose loving kindness and tender mercies 
have followed me all my life long. I congratulate you, my 
fellow-townsmen, on the success which has attended the cele- 
bration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the 
organization of the town of Leicester ; and I tender the Com- 
mittee of Arrangements my thanks for giving mo the opportu- 
nity of being present on this occasion : it has afforded enjoyment 
and pleasure that will go with me through the remaining days 
of my life. 

" Dear old Mother Leicester. May she ever be, as to-day, by her devo- 
tion to the cause of education, by her enterprise, her industry and prosperity, 
a spring of joy and pride to her returning sons and daughters ! " 



The following sentiment was announced from Rev. James 
Thurston, of West Newton : — 



76 



" The Oood Totvn of Leicester; one luindred and fifty years of age, her 
sunny hills, her shady groves, her fertile fields, her happy and cultured 
homes, her sons and daughters far and near. May her future prosperity be 
as conspicuous as her hills, as refreshing as her groves, as fertile as her 
fields, as lovely and attractive as her homes, as honorable to the community 
as her sons and daughters." 

From Miss Philena Upham, Leicester : — 

"When Governor Corwin, of Ohio, returned after a long absence at 
Washington, he thus addressed a gathering of neighbors : ' I rejoice once 
more to bathe in the faces of the people.' The crown and comfort of this 
exultant day to us is derived from our expectations fulfilled and our design 
accomplished. The sons and daughters of Leicester, who from time to time 
have taken flight, are now returned to the parent nest ; and once more, ere we 
wrap the drapery of our couch about us and lie down to pleasant dreams, 
we can ' bathe in the faces of the people ; ' once more we can greet them as we 
were wont to greet them in our greener years, and with doors free and open 
prate to them of 'ye olden time.' This occasion gives us, as Viola said, 
' a very echo of the seat where love is throned.' May this festival be rose- 
mary in our remembrance till we ' hear the rush of angel wings upon God's 
errand speeding'! " 

From Mrs. Caroline H. Metcalf, Worcester : — 

" The memories of the fathers are the inspiration of the sons. May the 
spirit of our fathers be revived in their children to the latest generations." 

From J. Partridge, Esq., Paxton : — 

" May the policy of the government of the United States with foreign 
nations be the same in the future as it has been in the past, — to ask notbing 
but that which is right, and to submit to nothing wrong." 

Rev. Mr. May read the beautiful lines from Dr. Holmes, as 
expressive and pertinent : — 

" There arc no times like the old times, — they shall never be forgot ! 
There is no jilace like the old place, — keep green the dear old spot ! 
There are no friends like the old ti-iends, — may Heaven prolong their lives ! 
There are no loves like our old loves, — God bless our loving wives ! " 



77 



" Yankee Doodle " and " Auld Lang Sync," by request, 
played with spirit and earnestness by the band, at half past five 
o'clock, were the last of the exercises. The success of the day 
was complete. The gun that awakened the good people of the 
town at sunrise, spoke again at sunset ; and a concert by the 
band on tlic Common was the chief feature of the evening;. 



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